Putin’s opposition in exile shows signs of weakness a year after Alexei Navalny’s death
Russian critics of the Kremlin deplore the spiral of mutual accusations among dissidents who have fled the country
Thousands of Russians flocked to Moscow’s Borisovo cemetery on Sunday to pay tribute to dissident Alexei Navalny, who died in February 2024 in an Arctic prison under suspicious circumstances. His name still troubles the Kremlin. The opposition leader remains on the government’s list of “extremists” and the criminal cases against him have not been closed. However, the sacrifice he made in trying to maintain his fight against Russian leader Vladimir Putin from prison has been overshadowed by the internal battles of the opposition in exile. At a key moment for the war in Ukraine, with the prospect that U.S. President Donald Trump will negotiate the conditions for a hypothetical end to the conflict with Putin, Navalny’s followers are no longer hiding their weariness over the accusations between opposition figures and their disconnection from the reality in the country.
