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Navalny (Movie Review)

Navalny is an upcoming documentary that tells the story of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The film centers on his near-fatal poisoning in 2020.

The film follows Navalny as he recovers from his poisoning and attempts to uncover who tried to kill him. He works closely with international news organizations Bellingcat and CNN to investigate the crime.

What is the film about?

When you hear the name Alexei Navalny, you probably think of a YouTube activist who fights corruption and promotes protests against President Putin. It’s easy to get swept up in his infectious optimism and sense of urgency.

In fact, you might not have noticed that he’s been in jail for almost nine years now. Until you watch this documentary about the Russian opposition leader’s struggle to survive an assassination attempt backed by the Kremlin.

It’s a riveting and tense ride, punctuated with grainy camera footage of Navalny in prison fatigues, head shaved, and staring defiantly at the camera through the bars of his cell.

After he recovers, Navalny sets up a network of regional offices that help mobilise opposition voters in the run-up to elections. The project, Smart Voting, has been credited with helping opposition candidates beat United Russia party members in city council and legislative races across the country.

Was Navalny poisoned?

During the last 20 years, Russian opposition figures and other opponents of the Kremlin have been targeted by assassination or attempted assassination. High-profile victims include Alexander Litvinenko, Sergei Skripal and Viktor Yushchenko.

The incident involving Navalny is a stark reminder of how the Kremlin is capable of killing political activists, journalists and even spies. Those who order the hits are often never brought to justice.

In the case of Navalny, the FSB, Russia’s security service, tracked him as he flew from Tomsk to Moscow. A new investigation by the investigative group Bellingcat and CNN based on thousands of phone records, flight manifests and other data, identified three members of an elite team whose mission it was to track him.

In a phone call to the research group, one of the agents involved admitted to putting the nerve agent Novichok in Navalny’s underwear on the night of his poisoning. It is the latest in a long series of assassinations of critics and journalists by the Kremlin.

Was Navalny murdered?

There’s a harrowing moment in this movie about jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny when one of the would-be assassins admits to trying to poison him with a nerve agent. It’s the most riveting scene in the film.

The assassins were part of a secret team within Russia’s FSB spy agency, which has tracked and killed several other anti-Putin activists since 2014. Bellingcat, the Insider and Der Spiegel revealed in January that the unit had also followed Timur Kuashev, Ruslan Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev before they all died of poisoning.

The poison was made with Soviet-era Novichok, a chemical weapon similar to the ricin used in Russia's Skripal poisoning. It’s still being used to kill people, though it’s not as deadly.

Was Navalny jailed?

Aleksei Navalny is Russia's most prominent opposition leader, whose team has published investigations into the country's elites and organised protests. He was jailed last year and is now serving a nine-year sentence for a range of charges including fraud and contempt of court.

He has accused President Vladimir Putin of a political conspiracy to keep him behind bars and to intimidate Russians. Western nations have condemned his detention, calling on the Kremlin to release him.

A trial against him was conducted in a makeshift courtroom at a prison colony hours away from Moscow where he is now serving a jail term. The judge found him guilty of a crime that he denies.

Was Navalny convicted?

Russian opposition leader and Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny was convicted on Tuesday of fraud and contempt of court, sent to a maximum-security prison for nine years. He also was fined 1.2 million rubles (about $11,500).

In 2014, Navalny and his brother were convicted of embezzlement and money laundering in connection with a French cosmetics firm’s Russia-based subsidiary, Yves Rocher. The verdict was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, but later upheld by the Russian Supreme Court.

Despite his near-fatal poisoning with a military-grade nerve agent in 2020, Navalny has continued to speak out against the Kremlin's suppression of freedom of expression and its increasing restrictions on access to information. He has also denounced Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine and advocated anti-war protests across the country.

Was Navalny released?

The Russian government has arrested and imprisoned a number of dissenting voices, including opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. He has been accused of fraud and contempt of court, but he has denied any wrongdoing.

In the film, we see footage of a gaunt Navalny standing beside his lawyers in a prison courtroom as Judge Margarita Kotova reads out the accusations against him. The 45-year-old appears unmoved by the proceedings and looks through court documents on a table in front of him.

He was sentenced to nine years in jail for fraud and contempt of court last year, a decision he says is politically motivated. He has been transferred to a maximum security penal colony over 155 miles east of Moscow, where he is now being held in solitary confinement. The EU, the US and other international organisations have called for his release.

Was Navalny convicted of treason?

Navalny is an outspoken Russian opposition politician, who has campaigned against government corruption. He is an example of how a political leader can inspire a nation to take action.

But since his arrest in January 2021, he has been held in a maximum security prison, behind a six-metre high fence and unable to visit a lawyer. He is charged with treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code), which can be punishable by fine, community service or detention of up to three months.

The film examines how Navalny, a former investigative journalist, became the target of a state-sponsored crackdown to silence his voice and weaken the Russian opposition movement. The Kremlin’s draconian actions have been condemned by the US, EU and others.

Was Navalny convicted of espionage?

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is serving an extended prison sentence for a crime he says was fabricated by President Vladimir Putin to stifle dissent. He has accused Putin of "sucking the blood out of Russia" through a patronage system designed to concentrate power in the Kremlin.

The anti-corruption campaigner was convicted of embezzling money from his foundation, and of committing contempt of court for insulting a judge. He was also fined 1.2 million rubles, or about $11,500.

The verdict came after a trial took place in a makeshift courtroom in a prison colony, hours away from Moscow. The proceedings were watched by tens of thousands of protesters, who had staged two weeks of rallies against Navalny's arrest.

Was Navalny convicted of fraud?

The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was convicted of fraud and sentenced to nine years in prison on Tuesday, in a trial Kremlin critics see as an attempt to keep President Vladimir Putin's most ardent foe behind bars for as long as possible. He was also fined 1.2 million rubles (about $11,500).

The verdict follows a year-long crackdown by Russian authorities on Navalny's supporters, other opposition activists and independent journalists in which authorities appear eager to stifle dissent. Several close allies have been charged or fled the country, and his national opposition movement's anti-corruption foundation and network of regional offices have been banned as extremist organizations.

Judge Margarita Kotova read out the verdict at the Pokrov penal colony outside Moscow, according to an AFP reporter who was present. Navalny, dressed in a black prison uniform, appeared unmoved. His lawyers Olga Mikhailova and Vadim Kobzev were then driven away, RIA reported.

Was Navalny convicted of tax evasion?

Alexei Navalny is no slouch when it comes to Russian politics, he's been around it for a long time. He's a prominent opponent of President Vladimir Putin, and has a core of supporters.

He's also a brave and fearless leader who has pushed back against a regime that represses political opposition. He's led by example and empowered movements against illiberal governments throughout the world.

Sadly, Navalny's latest case is likely to keep him out of active politics for years ahead.

The sentence is a serious blow to the anti-corruption crusader and his supporters. It's part of a wider crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech in Russia.

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