Reconciliation Over Anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s Death Will be Short-Lived

Executive Summary:

• The one-year anniversary of the death of Russian dissident and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny was met with tributes throughout Russia and abroad, including Russians braving the risk of arrest to visit Navalny’s grave. 
• In the year since Navalny’s death, Russian authorities have continued to crack down on his associates by accusing them of participating in an “extremist organization.”
• Opposition blogger Maxim Katz offered a tribute to Navalny, testifying to the late dissident’s potential to unify the divided Russian opposition movement. Despite this, there are no signs of unity developing between anti-Putin dissidents, who continued to engage in online feuding related to funding and alleged Kremlin connections.

The first anniversary of the death of Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny occurred on February 16, 2025. Navalny, who ran for president in 2018, was known for leading a mass anti-Putin movement inside Russia and for exposing corruption through his Anti-Corruption Foundation (Fond borby s korruptsiyey (FBK); Фонд борьбы с коррупцией (ФБК)), including investigating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “secret palace” in Gelendzhik (see EDM, February 20, 2024). In 2020, he survived a poisoning attack, allegedly by the Kremlin, with the nerve agent Novichok (see EDM, February 4, 2021). Foreign leaders and Russian opposition activists have blamed the Kremlin and Putin for Navalny’s death, which occurred unexpectedly while serving a 19-year sentence in a prison colony located inside Russia’s Arctic Circle (Ibid). 

In the year since Navalny’s death, the Kremlin has continued to crack down on the late dissident’s colleagues and the anti-Putin political movement. In January, three lawyers who defended Navalny on a charge of extremism (Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Liptser) were sentenced to jail terms of three and a half to five and a half years (Interfax.ru, January 17). They were accused of taking part in an “extremist organization” after relaying messages between Navalny and his associates (Ibid). 

Olga Mikhailova, Navalny’s head lawyer before his death, noted that this was the first time in modern Russia that lawyers faced accusations “along with their client” since “a lot of lawyers were purged in 1937. And afterward there were no more cases like that in the Soviet era” (The Moscow Times, January 22). Meanwhile, Russian civil rights group OVD-Info said that “the authorities are now essentially outlawing the defense of politically persecuted people” in a move that “risks destroying what little is left of the rule of law” (OVD-Info, January 17). Four journalists (Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov, and Artyom Kriger) are currently on trial for “participating in an extremist group,” accused of preparing photos and video materials for Navalny’s social media channels (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 2, 2024).

Team Navalny, a group of activists linked with or who worked alongside Navalny before his death, urged supporters to attend memorial events, rallies, and marches on the day of the anniversary. They reminded supporters that the Borisovskoye Cemetery, where Navalny is buried, would be open (Telegram/@teamnavalny, February 12). Kremlin-linked journalist Dmitri Smirnov warned supporters not to visit the cemetery, threatening that they would be under surveillance. He posted: “Brief advice to those who are going [to the cemetery] but are not sure yet—do not go! No one has canceled either Big Brother or his ever-watchful eye. And, as always, remember that none of those who are calling you to come there are in the country. And no cameras, except European or American ones, will copy them. But you—easily” (Telegram/@staraya, February 13). 

Despite such warnings, White Counter, an opposition group counting the number of participants at mass events, reported that over 5,300 people passed through the cemetery throughout the day (Facebook/Белый счетчик (BelyySchetchik), February 16). This number far exceeds the 1,500 stated in Western media outlets (France24, February 16). This is, however, still fewer than last year, when White Counter reported that at least 16,500 had gone to Navalny’s funeral and burial (Facebook/Белый счетчик (BelyySchetchik), March 2, 2024). 

Beyond the cemetery, Team Navalny posted photographs of several tributes laid in Navalny’s memory in cities across Russia, including flowers placed at memorials to victims of political repression and abroad (Instagram/@TeamNavalny, February 16 [1],[2]). White Counter noted that at least one arrest was made, a low figure in comparison with the number who queued to mourn Navalny in person (Facebook/Белый счетчик (BelyySchetchik), February 16). This does not mean, however, that no arrests have or will take place. OVD-info found that attendees at Navalny’s funeral last year were subsequently arrested after being traced with the assistance of surveillance cameras or footage posted online (Meduza; Telegram/@ovdinfolive, March 5, 2024). Given Smirnov’s warnings about CCTV cameras, there may be more arrests in the coming days, especially if any attendees were found to have expressed anti-war sentiment. 

In recent days, there have been several social media tributes from opposition figureheads with close ties to Navalny. Ilya Yashin wrote online: “Missing you so much, Alexei. But I remember that discouragement is a deadly sin, and I try to be worthy of your memory” (Instagram/@ilya_yashin, February 16). Vladimir Kara-Murza posted a quotation from Navalny accompanied by a message that “the murderers will definitely be held accountable. Russia will be free. And you can never be afraid” (Instagram/@vkaramurza, February 16). Tributes from these two are unsurprising as they have both organized an anti-war march in Berlin with Yulia Navalnaya, with another planned for March 1 this year (Telegram/@Ilya Yashin, December 12, 2024).

Despite these unified messages, Russia’s anti-Putin opposition movement exhibits divisions and in-fighting features (Meduza, February 12). Opposition activist and YouTuber Maxim Katz posted an online tribute to Navalny, calling it a “very important and tragic anniversary … significant for all politically active citizens of Russia” as well as “a personal loss” (Instagram/@maxim_katz, February 16). His video testified to Navalny’s potential as a unifying figure, describing him as “no stranger to anyone” and noting that “he knew how to create a world around himself and draw everyone into that world” (Ibid). Katz, however, has been involved in a feud with Navalny’s FBK movement. The latter recently published an investigation claiming that the Avtorskiye Media agency, co-founded by Katz’s wife, Yekaterina Patulina, has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars by working with companies closely linked to Russian officials (YouTube/@NavalnyLiveChannel,  February 5). This followed accusations by Katz that FBK had been receiving funds from fugitive bankers Alexander Zheleznyak and Sergei Leontiev, who are accused of fraud (YouTube/@Max_Katz, October 1, 2024). Adding to the division, former oil magnate turned Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky criticized the FBK at the time for its failure to provide a detailed response (Telegram/Mikhail Khodorkovsky, October 2, 2024). 

While Katz may have published a tribute to Navalny, his dispute with the remaining members of Navalny’s foundation shows no sign of abating. In recent days, FBK director Ivan Zhdanov and Katz have been arguing online about whether to hold public debates regarding the allegations against Patulina (Instagram/@maxim_katz, February 15). The Russian opposition as a whole is likely to remain severely divided, with investigations over funding and ties to the Russian government proving mediums for expressing tension and damaging each other’s reputations. As a testimony to the level of tensions within the Russian opposition, the FBK has accused billionaire Kremlin critic Leonid Nevzlin of having ordered a brutal attack on Navalny’s former chief of staff Leonid Volkov on March 12, 2024 (YouTube/@NavalnyRu, September 12, 2024).

Tributes and acts of resistance from Navalny’s supporters on the anniversary of his death highlight the Kremlin’s inability to silence those calling for a new Russia. While Navalny’s legacy still motivates activists within Russia, his death has exposed deeper rifts within the anti-Putin movement. The ongoing divisions and infighting within the opposition indicate that uniting in the fight against Putin remains a significant challenge.