Navalny Ends Hunger Strike

Navalny is currently imprisoned at the Pokrov Penal Colony, roughly 60 miles east of Moscow (Wikimedia Commons). 

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny concluded his 24-day hunger strike on April 23 in response to deteriorating health conditions as well as responses from his supporters. In an Instagram post on Friday, the Russian prisoner proclaimed substantial progress in his movement and elaborated upon the exact reasons for his decision. Navalny also communicated his desire that his supporters, who have forsaken food in a show of solidarity, not suffer physically at his expense.

The Kremlin critic lost more than 15 kg since his arrival at the colony on February 2, and according to his post, he recently lost feelings in his arms and legs. Last week, his doctors warned that he risked cardiac arrest at “any minute” as his conditions worsened. 

Navalny labeled himself a “skeleton walking” just days before renouncing the strike, which began on March 31 in response to his demands for sufficient medical care. His request for clinical expertise came in response to persisting health concerns stemming from his poisoning by a Novichok nerve agent in August in Siberia that he claims came at the orders of the Kremlin. 

Navalny is now almost three months into his multi-year sentence, a conviction the European Court of Human rights proclaimed as “politically motivated.” 

Protests over Navalny’s imprisonment have been ongoing since his arrest in January. This past Wednesday, April 21, nearly 1,500 people were detained. President Joe Biden has described the situation as “totally unfair,” and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned that the Russian government would be penalized if he dies. 

Navalny thanked his followers for their ongoing support, stating that his “heart is full of love and gratitude” but that he doesn’t “want to suffer anymore physically.”