Alexei Navalny: 10 points about fierce Putin critic who survived poisoning attempt in 2020 now dead in prison

Alexei Navalny dies: Russia's prison agency on Friday announced the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the age of 47. The Federal Prison Service said that Navalny became unwell and lost consciousness after a walk on Friday.

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Alexei Navalny- Vladimir Putin's principal opponent

• Navalny was a prominent figure in Russia's divided opposition, often likened to Nelson Mandela by his supporters who anticipated his eventual release from jail to lead the country.

• Navalny rose to fame through blogs exposing widespread corruption in Russia, accusing the country's leadership of being "crooks and thieves."

• In the 2000s, he participated in Russian nationalist marches and expressed anti-immigrant views, leading to his expulsion from the liberal Yabloko opposition party in 2007.

• Navalny was an early target for arrest during the December 2011 protests against Putin, and in 2013, he ran for mayor of Moscow, securing 27 per cent of the vote despite limited coverage from state media.

• Barred from running for office on various grounds since then, Navalny and his team used YouTube to mock Vladimir Putin and ‘expose’ the opulent lifestyles of Russia's elite.

• The Kremlin dismissed Navalny's corruption allegations against Putin and portrayed him as an extremist, alleging ties to the US Central Intelligence Agency.

• Navalny survived a poisoning in August 2020, later identified as an attempt to use the nerve agent Novichok.

• Navalny gained global admiration in 2021 when he willingly returned to Russia from Germany, where he had received treatment for a nerve agent poisoning in Siberia. However, he was promptly arrested upon arrival.

• He was serving over 11-year sentence in a penal colony.

• Navalny is survived by his wife Yulia Navalnaya, and they have two children.

(Inputs from Reuters)