World leaders blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of his most outspoken critic.
Alexey Navalny was respected around the world and, despite being locked up for years in a prison cell, was Russian President Vladimir Putin's staunchest critic.
That voice of dissent was silenced when Russia announced his death on Friday at the age of 47.
World leaders were quick to blame Putin for getting rid of another Russian who dared to challenge him. The Kremlin describes this reaction as “unacceptable” and “angry.”
Russians will be able to choose whether Putin is re-elected for a fifth term next month. The vote is already widely seen as a foregone conclusion, given the lack of opposition voices that could oppose his long rule.
So who could ever replace him? What does the lack of freedom of expression mean for future opposition voices in Russia? And how will Russians remember Alexey Navalny?
Presenter: Adrian Finighan
Guests:
Vladimir Sotnikov – Associate Professor of International Relations, Higher School of Economics of the University
Samuel Ramani: Associate member of the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank.
Peter Nikitin – Russian pro-democracy lawyer and activist
