Navalny's death

Opposition activist: Putin thinks like a gang leader

The imprisoned Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin wants to continue the fight against Putin.(Bild: glomex)

The imprisoned Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin has commented on the death of his friend Alexei Navalny. "As long as my heart beats in my chest, I will fight against tyranny," he announced in a letter. Putin does not think like a statesman, but like a gang leader.

In the understanding of Russian President Vladimir Putin, power is expressed through "murder, cruelty and revenge." He "ordered" Navalny's killing and did so "demonstratively" so that "no one doubts Putin's involvement." The Russian president will remain a "little man" who "gained immense power by chance."

Ilya Yashin(Bild: glomex)

"Man with extraordinary courage"
Navalny, on the other hand, will go down in history as a "man of extraordinary courage" who "went forward with a smile" for his convictions and "died a hero", said Yashin.

Like Navalny, the 40-year-old was active in the liberal Russian opposition from the 2000s. He was also an associate and friend of the opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered in 2015. "We had a common cause and dedicated our lives to making Russia peaceful, free and happy. Now both my friends are dead," said Yashin.

Had denounced the murder of civilians
Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for denouncing the murder of civilians by the Russian army in the Ukrainian town of Butsha (see video above). In November, he was transferred to the Safono penal colony near the western Russian city of Smolensk.