A political enemy of Vladimir Putin, sentenced to 19 years in prison for “extremism”, died in a prison in the Russian Arctic on Friday.
“Three days ago, Vladimir Putin killed my husband. (…) With him, he wanted to kill our hope, our freedom, our future.” In a video broadcast on Monday February 19, Yulia Navalny, the widow of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, vowed to continue her late husband’s fight and called on his supporters to join him. “I will continue with you for our country. And I call on you all to stand by me”she said.
Alexei Navalny, the number one opponent of the Russian president, died on Friday in a prison in the Russian Arctic, where he was serving a 19-year sentence. His death at the age of 47 is a reminder of the repression that has followed critical voices against Vladimir Putin’s rule.
Before him, other voices critical of the Kremlin lost their lives. Journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in the lobby of her building in Moscow in 2006, and former governor Boris Nemtsov was assassinated on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015. After the death of Alexei Navalny, what is left of the opposition to Russian power? Francinfo looks back at the main faces of this opposition to Vladimir Putin, most of them in prison or in exile.
Unwanted imprisonment
Vladimir Kara-Morza. One of Vladimir Putin’s main critics, Vladimir Kara-Morza, notably a journalist, was an adviser to Boris Nemtsov and a candidate for a seat in the Russian Parliament in 2003. Last April (then on appeal in July), he was convicted. 25 years in prison. At the age of 41, he was convicted of “high treason”, “false information about the army” and illegally working for an organization. “undesirable”. He condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and was convicted after a closed-door hearing. His sentence is the heaviest handed down against a major opponent in recent years. Vladimir Kara-Morza came close to death after two poisonings in 2015 and 2017, which he blamed on Russian power. He was sent to a high-speed panel colony in September. Security at Omsk, in Siberia, then placed him in solitary confinement for at least four months in January. Relatives of Vladimir Kara-Morza Worried about his fragile health, the antagonist suffers from a nervous condition called polyneuropathy due to his poison.
Ilya Yashin. Another face of the Russian opposition, 39-year-old Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in late 2022 (on appeal later in April). Condemned “Killing civilians” In the Ukrainian town of Baucha. The Russian military has been accused of killing civilians and other abuses, including sexual violence, which Moscow denies. In this context, Ilya Itchin was convicted of disseminating “false information” about the Russian military. Opponent, former elected official and then chairman of the Moscow District Municipal Council, founded the liberal Solidarnost party, notably with Boris Nemtsov and Garry Kasparov.
Andrey Pivorov. In the summer of 2022, Andrey Pivovarov was sentenced to four years in prison for campaigning in favor of a banned organization. He was sentenced “With a ban on socio-political activities for a period of eight years”, according to his team. A year ago, on May 31, 2021, police arrested him as he was preparing to leave St. Petersburg for Warsaw in Poland. The activist and human rights defender just announced the self-dissolution of Open Russia, his organization linked to exiled activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He expected the movement to be classified as “undesirable”, exposing its members to legal action.
Opponents in exile
Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The wealthy Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, opposed Vladimir Putin in the early 2000s. A powerful businessman, he was convicted and imprisoned for nearly ten years from 2004 to 2013 for tax evasion and flight. His trial was subsequently condemned by the European Court of Human Rights. After his release in 2013, the former oligarch has taken refuge in London (United Kingdom), from where he finances the opposition platform. He significantly supported the self-disbanded Open Russia organization by Andrei Pivorov in 2021.
Garry Kasparov. Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion, has long opposed Vladimir Putin. As recalled Parisian, He was briefly imprisoned in 2007 after participating in demonstrations against the Russian president. Garry Kasparov and Mikhail Khodorkovsky was designated a “foreign agent” in Russia, a label that can lead to heavy sanctions and is widely used against protesters, journalists and human rights defenders in Russia. The Russian Justice Ministry said the two had been deported to the protesters “sources” In Ukraine for financing their activities.
Mikhail Kasyanov. He is also now a “foreign agent” in the eyes of Russian officials. Mikhail Kasyanov, Vladimir Putin’s prime minister in the early 2000s, then became a vocal critic of the Russian president. Before the start of the war in Ukraine, he headed the People’s Freedom Party. He announced in June 2022 that he had left Russia. The Ministry of Justice accuses him “Opposition to Special Military Operations in Ukraine” and being “Member of the Russian Anti-War Committee”.
Gennady and Dmitry Gudkov. A former KGB officer, Gennady Goudkov was deputy from 2001 to 2012. In exile since 2019, he has become one of the main figures of opposition to the Kremlin in France. The former elected official notably co-founded the Russian Democratic Club. His son, Dmitry Gudkov, is also an opponent of Russian authority and a former member of parliament. A year ago, he was designated a “foreign agent” in turn “Ukraine Asked to Supply Weapons” and for “Introduce restrictive measures against Russia”, according to the Russian Ministry of Justice. Like his father, Dmitry Gudkov also left Russia.
Some critical voices are still free
Oleg Orlov. He is still one of the few opponents of the free Kremlin. Oleg Orlov is the manager of the NGO Memorial, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. Disbanded at the end of 2021, the organization defends human rights and investigates Soviet and more recent repression in Russia. Oleg Orlov, aged 70, was fined 150,000 rubles, or 1,400 euros at the exchange rate at the time, for condemning Russian attacks in Ukraine in the fall. The Russian Ministry of Justice also put him on the “list of foreign agents”, making sure “Opposed to Special Military Operations in Ukraine”. Oleg Orlov risks a new trial and faces up to three years in prison.
Boris Nadezhdin. Little known to the general public, Boris Nadezhdin presented his candidacy for the Russian presidential election, which will be held from March 15 to 17. A municipal elected official in Dolgoprudny, on the outskirts of Moscow, he opposed Vladimir Putin and the conflict in Ukraine. The Election Commission eventually invalidated the candidacy of Boris Nadezhdin, the only opposition figure running for the vote.
Evgeny Roizman. Another critic of Vladimir Putin who opposes the war in Ukraine, 60-year-old Evgeny Roizman is a former mayor of the city of Yekaterinburg. He was convicted last May “Discredited Army” In Russian and was ordered to pay a fine of around 3,000 euros, 260,000 rubles at the exchange rate of the period. He had to stay in jail for several years.
