Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Detained After Returning To Russia

Topline

Alexei Navalny, one of Russia’s most outspoken Kremlin critics, was detained at a Moscow airport Sunday after returning to his home country for the first time since he nearly died after being poisoned by a Soviet-era nerve agent last year.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“Everyone is asking me if I’m scared. I am not afraid,” Navalny told reporters at the Moscow airport shortly before being detained, according to CNN. “I feel completely fine walking towards the border control. I know that I will leave and go home because I’m right and all the criminal cases against me are fabricated.”

Key Background

Navalny was first airlifted to Berlin for treatment after being poisoned in August while traveling in Russia. Tests in Germany showed Navalny had been poisoned with a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union that was also used in the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the U.K. in 2018. The Kremlin has denied involvement in both cases. Navalny has been arrested and imprisoned in Russia multiple times throughout the years for criticizing Putin’s government. Despite pressure from the West, Russia has not opened an investigation into the poisoning, claiming there is no evidence a crime was committed. Last month, the U.S. State Department said they believed the Russian Federal Security Service poisoned Navalny. “There is no plausible explanation for Mr. Navalny’s poisoning other than Russian government involvement and responsibility,” a department spokesperson said in a statement, according to CNN. “Of course, President Putin and the Russian government would have us believe otherwise.” Navalny’s claims the Kremlin was behind his attack were also backed up by investigative online website Bellingcat. A joint investigation with The Insider, Der Spiegel and CNN uncovered evidence that Navalny had been stalked by government agents specializing in poisonous substances for nearly three years before he was poisoned in 2020.

Further Reading

Opposition Leader Navalny Faces Dilemma As Big Political Year Dawns For Russia (Forbes)

FSB Team of Chemical Weapon Experts Implicated in Alexey Navalny Novichok Poisoning (Bellingcat)