Word of Aleksei A. Navalny’s demise drew condemnation from throughout Europe on Friday, with leaders holding Russia’s authorities, and particularly President Vladimir V. Putin, liable for the demise of the imprisoned Russian dissident.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who was in Germany on Friday for the Munich Security Conference, stated that Mr. Navalny “was killed by Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured because of this one creature.”
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, talking alongside Mr. Zelensky after signing a safety settlement with him in Berlin, expressed dismay on the stories of Mr. Navalny’s demise, calling them “very depressing.”
“It’s awful the way Russia has changed,” Mr. Scholz stated.
His predecessor as chancellor, Angela Merkel, who in 2020 succeeded in persuading Mr. Putin to permit Mr. Navalny to be flown to Berlin for therapy after being poisoned, expressed her “great dismay” on the stories of the opposition chief’s demise.
“He was a victim of Russia’s repressive state power,” Ms. Merkel stated in a press release. “It is terrible that a courageous, fearless voice who stood up for his country has been silenced by terrible methods.”
Throughout her 16-year tenure, Ms. Merkel was thought of the one Western chief able to speaking with Mr. Putin. Despite his repeated makes an attempt to intimidate her, she insisted that he could be extra harmful if remoted, and maintained continuous contact with him. During her closing go to to Moscow as chancellor in August 2021, Ms. Merkel urged the Russian president to launch Mr. Navalny, calling his detention “unacceptable.”
In France, which Mr. Zelensky was additionally visiting on Friday, President Emmanuel Macron stated: “In today’s Russia, free spirits are put in the Gulag and condemned to death. Anger and indignation.”
“I pay tribute to the memory of Alexeï Navalny, his commitment and his courage,” Mr. Macron wrote on the social platform X. “My thoughts are with his family, his loved ones and the Russian people.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain, whose country has long been an outspoken critic of Russia’s detention of Mr. Navalny, as well as its broader crackdown on dissent, called Mr. Navalny’s death “terrible.”
“As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life,” Mr. Sunak wrote on X. “My thoughts are with his wife and the people of Russia, for whom this is a huge tragedy.”
Britain has had a tense relationship with Russia for years, a rift that was deepened by the poisoning of two former Russian intelligence operatives on British soil within the final twenty years, the following expulsion of Russian diplomats from Britain, and Britain’s stalwart help of Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Mr. Sunak’s sentiments had been echoed by different leaders.
The European Union “holds the Russian regime for sole responsible for this tragic death,” Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, stated on social media. Mr. Navalny, he added, “fought for the values of freedom and democracy. For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary common, stated Mr. Navalny had been “a strong voice for freedom.” He added, “All the facts has to be established, and Russia has serious questions to answer.”
