Russia has no candidate to succeed the opposition politician Aleksei Navalny. Opponents of the rulers have been sent to prison or exile.
The Russian opposition is fragmented and its leader defeated Alexei Navalny is gone. We gathered here some other well-known president Vladimir Putin opposing persons.
Ex-oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky are Russia’s most famous Putin critics. Khodorkovsky was one of the richest men in Russia until he was convicted of financial crimes.
After being released from prison, Khodorkovsky has received political asylum in Britain and some of his frozen assets back.
On the X-message service, Khodorkovsky bluntly accused President Putin of killing Navalny.
Now working as a businessman, Khodorkovsky said that before Navalny, a close friend of his was murdered Boris Nemtsov. Putin’s opponent was shot in Moscow in 2015. It was a political assassination.
Opposition activist Ilja Jašin
The opposition politician who criticized Russia’s attack on Ukraine Ilja JaÅ¡in serving 8.5 years in prison. JaÅ¡in received his sentence for spreading false information about the Russian armed forces.
On social media, the opposition activist criticized, among other things, the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Butša, Ukraine. Before his prison sentence, he worked as a city councilor in Moscow.
Reported by Vladimir Kara-Murza
Another well-known activist, Vladimir Kara-Murza, is also serving a long prison sentence. He received a 25-year sentence for treason, spreading false information about the Russian armed forces, and connections to an undesirable organization.
Kara-Murza was a close friend of the murdered Boris Nemtsov. Before his imprisonment, he worked in the Open Russia movement.
Opposition activist Leonid Volkov
Leonid Volkov leads the FBK channel founded by Aleksei Navalny in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The station’s operation is banned in Russia and it is considered a terrorist organization.
Volkov said in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in February 2023 that “the opposition will continue its activities despite the persecution”.
Volkov supported Navalny’s election campaign in his bid to become mayor of Moscow. He has worked in IT positions and was involved in local politics in his hometown of Yekaterinburg.
AFP, Reuters