Navalny Plaats
in Antwerpen

For thousands of Russians, Alexey Navalny was a symbol of the “beautiful Russia of the future” — free, developed, open to the world. For young people, he became a man who showed that it is possible and necessary to take an interest in politics, and that it is accessible to everyone.

Alexey opened the eyes of many people to the scale of corruption in the country by starting to produce investigative films on YouTube. In them, he repeatedly proved the direct involvement of major Russian politicians, including current President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev, in corruption schemes. The films were so compelling that Russians waited for fresh investigations like they wait for the release of new episodes of their favourite TV series on Netflix. Together with his team, Alexey came up with the Smart Voting strategy to break the ruling government’s monopoly.

Even those who used to consider themselves far from politics subscribed to Navalny’s social networks. Some followed his successes and failures in sports, others liked posts declaring their love for his wife Yulia and children. On Twitter with Alexey, you could discuss the new season of “Rick and Morty” or complain that you don’t like running either. He was also constantly making very funny jokes, even while behind bars in subhuman conditions.

Throughout his career, Alexey has been threatened, detained dozens of times, and put under house arrest. In August 2020, he was poisoned, but the politician survived. He underwent treatment in Germany, and, having recovered, decided to return to Russia, realising all the risks. He was detained right at the Moscow airport.

According to various sources, between 100,000 and 300,000 Russians came out to protest in defence of the politician, and about 4,000 people were detained. These detentions are considered to be the most massive in the history of modern Russia.

After changing several colonies, Aleksey ended up in the Far North. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison for creating an “extremist community”. The Russian authorities considered the “Anti-Corruption Foundation” founded by the politician to be such a community. In the colony, he was sent 27 times to the SHIZO — a stone bag, a solitary confinement cell without any amenities.

Navalny was categorically opposed to the war with Ukraine unleashed by Vladimir Putin, and condemned the war on the very first day he was on trial. Alexey called for an end to Russian aggression, recognised the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine with internationally recognised borders. For him, Russia was part of Europe, and he explicitly stated that the European path was the only way for Russia’s development.

On 16 February, the Russian authorities announced the death of Alexey Navalny. But they feared even dead Navalny. His body was refused to be released to his mother for several days. People carrying flowers to the memorials that spontaneously sprang up all over Russia were detained.

On the day of the politician’s funeral, thousands of people came to say goodbye to him despite threats. People came to Moscow from other cities specifically to lay flowers. Places of Alexey’s memory appeared in many countries, including Belgium.

Alexey Navalny’s contribution to the development of democracy is recognisedthroughout the world. The European Parliament awarded him the main human rights award of the European Union — “For Freedom of Thought” named after Andrey Sakharov, in 2023 the politician received the Gunter Wallraff Prize for Freedom of Speech, in 2024 Alexey was posthumously awarded the Dresden Peace Prize. Last year, Daniel Rohr’s documentary film “Navalny”, featuring the politician, won an Oscar.