Alexey Navalny: His life, his legacy and what he meant to Russia

Russia’s most prominent opposition leader Alexey Navalny died after collapsing and losing consciousness at a penal colony north of the Arctic circle in Russia this month. His death sparked a massive outpouring of grief amid expressions of solidarity in major capitals across the world.

Navalny's death takes place a month before Russia's next presidential elections. The timing raises suspicions about whether President Vladimir Putin, who is running for another six-year term after 24 years in office, is attempting to further consolidate his rule in the absence of a vibrant opposition.

Navalny was undoubtedly vibrant and a highly popular figure particularly in his formative days. He was a key challenger to Putin.

Candlelight vigils across the world point at his legacy as a unifying force for anti-status quo Russians.

The castigation that the Putin administration has had to endure after his death is due to the reverence Navalny enjoyed among his supporters. His death has solidified his legacy as that of an indigenous unifying force who used grassroots-level opposition and advocacy to push for egalitarianism in Russia.

Navalny’s struggle was an indigenous one. It was by a Russian nationalist who advocated for accountability from his country’s oligarchy, officials and state institutions.

Tech savvy, with a penchant for appealing to his followers through social media (his YouTube channel has over six million subscribers), Navalny was a source of hope for those wishing to see a more just and equitable society.

His experiences as a lawyer prompted him to question the efficacy of Russia’s judicial system, which he said would only work if the government saw reforms.

He was definitely a foe of Putin, but to label him as a mere regime change crusader with personal ambitions would be unfair. He was uncomfortable with the Kremlin’s impunity.

Speaking to NPR in 2018, Navalny said, "I want to live in a normal country and refuse to accept any talk about Russia being doomed to being a bad, poor or servile country. I want to live here and cannot tolerate the injustice that for many people has become routine."

His position serves as a telling reminder that indigenous activism for the betterment of Russian society remains a possibility. Navalny’s refusal to allow Russia to become a servile country also demonstrates his quest to witness a self-sufficient state which is respected on the international stage in the absence of sanctions, castigation and censure from Russia’s adversaries.

Born in a rural area west of the capital Moscow in 1976, Navalny became a lawyer in 1998 and also earned a degree in economics. Early in his career, he espoused nativist Russian beliefs before transitioning towards an advocacy-centred push for a market economy, increased transparency and liberal democracy. This approach formed an integral part of his pro-Western stance.

His death at the age of 47 years old has spurred contemplation among Russians and well-wishers across the world. Few can deny that Navalny's activism enabled the average Russian to question his or her circumstances and dream about a better future.

In 2004, he formed a movement to address rampant overdevelopment in the capital Moscow while in 2008, he accused state entities such as Gazprom and the oil goliath, Rosneft of massive graft.

Navalny then founded anti-corruption group Rospil.net in 2010, a collection of lawyers who analysed the spending of state institutions and shed light on corruption that was then brought as cases to court.

A year later, he also established the Foundation for Fighting Corruption, which became the main platform for exposing alleged graft in the Kremlin. The foundation was later banned as an extremist group by the government. Still, all these advocacy efforts and activism contributed to Navalny's mass appeal.

His anti-corruption drive gained traction particularly among the young and internet-savvy Russian segments of the population. They helped popularise a 2015 YouTube documentary that implicated Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika for ties to a criminal organisation.

As a result, his death, which comes amid a slew of criminal cases against him ranging from vandalism to extremism, is a massive loss for the Russian public. It robbed the people of a grassroots-level figure who could question the status quo and work towards greater transparency.

Navalny's death is also a chilling reminder that figureheads daring to uncover malpractice within the top echelons of power will be suppressed through state machineries. This is even more tragic given that Navalny bridged gaps between leftists, rightists and nationalists, all of whom were fed up with the exceptionalism that the Russian elite has enjoyed.

As candlelight vigils take place across the world and within Russia over his death, Navalny’s legacy as a unifying, indigenous and alternate voice for Russians should never be forgotten.

Though many people said they saw him as a last chance for a more inclusive, resilient and prosperous country, his wife Yulia Navalnaya and many others have now vowed to carry on his work.

In a video message this week, she said, "I call on you to stand with me. To share not only grief and endless pain … I ask you to share with me the rage. The fury, anger, hatred for those who dare to kill our future."