Main content

The Navalny ‘poisoning'

With Alexei Navalny in critical condition, what's the future for Russia's opposition?

Alexei Navalny is Russia's best-known anti-corruption campaigner and opposition activist. Today he lies gravely ill in a Berlin hospital. The German doctors treating him say he appears to have been poisoned. Navalny has been a longstanding critic of President Vladimir Putin, and his anti-corruption activities have highlighted the huge asset holdings of Russia’s political elites. His online activism draws tens of thousands of people to the streets across the country in protest against a range of injustices. So what do we know about what has happened to Mr Navalny and his recent activities? Will his hospitalisation galvanise the opposition? And what of the timing - can the Kremlin afford a backlash now when Russia’s closest neighbour, Belarus, is gripped by anti-regime protests? Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of expert guests to discuss how events have changed the picture in Russia.

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Sat 29 Aug 2020 13:06GMT

Contributors

Yevgenia Albats - Russian investigative journalist

Sir Tony Brenton - former British Ambassador to Russia

Mary Dejevsky - former Times correspondent to Moscow

Also featuring

Vladimir Milov - opposition politician and Navalny adviser

Sergei Markov - former member of the Duma from President Putin's United Russia party

Picture

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny takes part in a rally in Moscow. Credit: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Broadcasts

  • Fri 28 Aug 2020 09:06GMT
  • Fri 28 Aug 2020 23:06GMT
  • Sat 29 Aug 2020 03:06GMT
  • Sat 29 Aug 2020 13:06GMT

The Real Story Podcast

Subscribe via your favourite podcast app...

Podcast