Imprisoned in the Arctic Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says he is "fine"

A charismatic anti-corruption activist and Vladimir Putin's number one enemy, Alexei Navalny, 47, is serving a 19-year prison sentence for "extremism".

(Moscow) Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose fate is worrying in the West, said on Tuesday that he was "fine" after a long and "tiring" transfer to a remote Arctic penal colony.

His relatives, who had not heard from him for nearly three weeks, announced on Monday that they had found him in a penal colony in Kharp, located in Yamalo-Nenetsia, beyond the Arctic Circle.

They say the Russian authorities are seeking to isolate him even further, three months before the March 2024 presidential election in which Vladimir Putin's victory seems assured.

In his first social media post since his disappearance, Navalny said the 20-day journey to his new place of detention had been "quite tiring".

"But I'm in a good frame of mind, like Santa Claus," he added, referring to his "beard" that grew during the long journey as well as his new winter clothes adapted to the polar temperatures.

"Anyway, don't worry about me. I am good. I'm relieved to have finally arrived," said the opposition leader, who was able to see his lawyer on Monday, according to his aides.

A charismatic anti-corruption activist and Vladimir Putin's number one enemy, Alexei Navalny, 47, is serving a 19-year prison sentence for "extremism". He was arrested in January 2021 after returning from Russia from convalescing in Germany for a poisoning he blames on the Kremlin.

He disappeared in early December from the penal colony in the Vladimir region, 250 kilometres east of Moscow, where he had been held until then, which meant that he would likely be transferred to another facility.

In Russia, such journeys often take weeks by train and in several stages, with relatives of detainees remaining without news during this period.

"Polar Wolf"

According to the "extremism" verdict against Navalny, the opponent must serve his sentence in a "special regime" colony, the category of facilities with the harshest conditions and usually reserved for lifetime sentence and the most dangerous prisoners.

The colony where Navalny is currently detained, nicknamed "Polar Wolf", is a legacy of the Soviet Gulag. The inmates work there, among other things, tanning and sewing reindeer skins, which are used by the local indigenous people.

He said he arrived at his new place of detention on Saturday evening, after a discreet journey with "such a strange itinerary" that he did not expect to be found by his relatives until mid-January.

"That's why I was surprised when the cell door opened yesterday and I was told, 'A lawyer is here for you,'" he said, expressing gratitude for the "support" expressed.

One of his close aides, Ivan Zhdanov, accused the Russian authorities of trying to "isolate" him in the run-up to the presidential election.

According to him, Alexei Navalny is being held in "one of the northernmost and most remote settlements" in Russia, where conditions are "difficult".

In the West, his disappearance had caused concern, not quite appeased by his reappearance in a very remote region.

The United States said on Monday it was "deeply concerned" about the "conditions of detention" of Alexei Navalny, demanding his release.

Navalny's movement has been methodically eradicated by the government in recent years, pushing his collaborators and allies into exile or prison.

In early December, Russian authorities filed a new case for "vandalism" against the anti-corruption activist, which could add three years to his sentence.

Vladimir Putin is aiming for another six-year term in the Kremlin in the March presidential election, a term that would take him until 2030, the year he turns 78.

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