Ilya Yashin is an ally of Alexei Navalny (file photo)
Imprisoned Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin vowed on Tuesday after learning that his friend and colleague, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, had died in prison. Keep fighting for democracy in Russia.
The death last week of President Vladimir Putin’s arch-nemesis sparked a wave of outrage and concern among Navalny’s allies and other Kremlin critics who are imprisoned in Russia.
“As long as my heart beats in my chest, I will fight against tyranny. As long as I live, I will not fear evil,” Yassin said in a social media post through his lawyer.
In December 2022, Yashin was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for spreading “false” information about Russian troops, under legislation that criminalizes criticism of the Ukraine offensive.
“Of course, I understand the risks I face. I am behind bars. My life is in Putin’s hands and is in danger,” he said.
Yasin was a Navalny ally and was close to another opposition politician, Boris Nemtsov, who was killed near the Kremlin in 2015.
“We had a common cause and were committed to making Russia peaceful, free and happy,” Yashin said. “Now two of my friends are dead.”
He said he learned of Navalny’s death in a prison near Smolensk in western Russia and, like many in the opposition, blamed the Kremlin.
“In Putin’s understanding, this is how power is exercised – through murder, brutality and demonstrative revenge,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who did not comment on Putin’s death, declined to say how Putin reacted to the death of his chief rival.
Peskov also said that the investigation into Navalny’s death is ongoing and the results of the investigation have not yet been released.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
