A Look At Putin Rival Alexei Navalny’s Final Day Of Freedom

After years of leading an opposition movement opposed to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, 47-year-old Alexei Navalny reportedly died this week while serving a 19-year prison sentence.

His fate was the price for his political activism, but he’s always been willing to pay it.

Near-death experience

Navalny’s death, which an official report said came after he “felt unwell” during a walk, wasn’t the first time Putin was accused of trying to silence his outspoken critic.

In 2020, he was poisoned with a nerve agent, which left him in a coma. He was evacuated from Russia to a hospital in Germany and, despite the odds, he recovered from the near-fatal incident. Just months later, he surprised fans and foes alike with his decision to once again travel back to Russia.

Facing his fate

As expected, Navalny’s arrival in Russia resulted in his arrest and imprisonment, but throughout his last hours of freedom he maintained the good nature and sense of humor for which he was known.

He and his wife boarded a plane from Germany to Moscow on Jan. 17, 2021, surrounded by reporters who peppered him with questions.

“I feel great,” he said at one point.

Referencing the health ordeal he’d just experienced, Navalny quipped: “This is the best moment of the past five months.”

Whether he was afraid or not, it didn’t show in his behavior that day.

He joked about his seat number: “I’m sitting in lucky 13!”

He referenced his home country’s bitter cold winters: “I expect wonderful weather.”

He even watched an episode of the cartoon series “Rick and Morty” during the flight, then quoted the show the next month in court, declaring: “To live is to risk it all. Otherwise, you’re just an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules drifting wherever the universe blows you.”

Chris Agee February 17th, 2024

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