Alexei Navalny’s man in Australia: ‘We have lost our leader, but we must not give up’

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Key Points
  • Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has died in an Arctic prison.
  • News of Navalny’s death has prompted reactions from Russian political figures, bloggers, journalists, and ordinary citizens.
  • Putin has not commented publicly on Navalny’s death.
Every Saturday you can meet Petr Kuzmin, a Russian-Australian Software Delivery Manager, on the Princes Bridge in Melbourne.

Almost every week for the past two years, Kuzmin has been silently protesting on the bridge with posters denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or in support of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

A memorial of flowers and pictures of Alexei Navalny

Russian opposition leader and Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny has reportedly died in an Arctic prison. Source: AAP / SOPA Images/Sipa USA

He was among nearly 60 people gathered at the bridge on Saturday to voice outrage over Navalny’s passing and criticise Russian President Vladimir Putin,

Navalny fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence.
Kuzmin claims his death was a “murder”. “It was, of course, a murder. And, naturally, supporters of Alexei Navalny, supporters of a civilized, democratic, normal Russia, – we are now experiencing very difficult feelings,” Kuzmin told SBS Russian.

“We have lost our leader, but, just like he always said, it is at this moment that we must not give up.

“Alexei is alive in us. As long as we remain true to the ideals and values that he promoted, Alexei will live.”
Kuzmin left Russia in 1999 but says he never lost his emotional connection with his home country and coordinated the in Australia.

Russians in Australia mourn Navalny

Kuzmin said while everybody was “feeling down”, he hoped their leader’s death would lead to action.
Slava Kitaeff, who also attended the memorial, said it felt “surreal” when he found out about Navalny’s passing.

Like many Russians in Melbourne, he was at veteran Russian rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov’s concert on Friday evening when he heard the news.

A band is performing on stage while people in the front listen.

Veteran Russian rock musician Boris Grebenshchikov held a concert for the Russian community in Melbourne on Friday. Credit: Supplied by S. Kitaeff.

“Part of the audience was leaving the concert in shock. The other part still didn’t know what was happening. I saw various people hugging each other and crying,” he told SBS Russian.

Kuzmin said Navalny’s death would not impact his political activism in Australia.
“I’m not going anywhere, I’m here. I will do whatever I can to lobby the Australian government to put pressure on Putin’s regime to impose personal sanctions,” he said.

“This regime has to be brought to justice one way or another, and I will be doing everything I can for that.”

A man holds a placard with a photo of Alexei Navalny with two people in the background.

Supporters of Alexei Navalny gathered for a protest in front of the Russian consulate in Woollahra, Sydney, on Saturday. Source: SBS News / Images

In Sydney, Navalny’s supporters said his death would continue to inspire others “to defend the Russian people’s right to freedom”.

“The fact that he (Navalny) died tragically only tells us that we still have such people in Russia. And I hope they always will be there,” a protester who requested anonymity told SBS Russian.

“The Russian people who have suffered as a nation for a long time, must be free. But, unfortunately, power in Russia has been seized by criminals; the criminals who now have colossal power, and it is very difficult to fight them. But we need to fight.”

Australian leaders hail Navalny as a hero

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled Navalny a “courageous force for democracy” after reports of his death.

“His treatment was unforgivable, and our thoughts are with his family and with the people of Russia,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Saturday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong praised the Navalny’s resilience and pointed the finger of blame.
“(Navalny’s) heroic opposition to Putin’s repressive and unjust regime inspired the world,” she wrote on X. “We hold the Russian government solely responsible for his treatment and death in prison.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton called Navalny a hero and urged world leaders to condemn Russian authorities for the death.

“There should be global condemnation, and I’m sure there will be,” he told reporters.

Elsewhere, Russians reacted with a mixture of disbelief and despair, with news of Navalny’s passing prompting reactions from Russian political figures, bloggers, journalists, and ordinary citizens.

Russians risk arrest to march in streets

Human rights organisations, said it was almost impossible for people in Russia to protest, due to authorities’ increasingly restrictive laws.
But news of Navalny’s death prompted supporters to take to the streets despite the risks of being arrested.

In many Russian cities, people also laid flowers at memorials for victims of political repression.

A group of people holding posters in the dark, one reading "I'm not afraid, and you shouldn't be either".

Russian communities around the world are holding memorials for Alexei Navalny this weekend. A poster reads “I’m not afraid, and you shouldn’t be afraid”. Source: Getty / Michele Tantussi

According to , an independent human rights defence and media group that collects data and produces content about political repressions in Russia, more than 100 people had been detained at pro-Navalny rallies.

What are Russians saying on social media?

Many Russians also took to social media to articulate their thoughts and opinions.
Independent Russian journalist and blogger Ilya Varlamov, who has 4.8 million YouTube subscribers, posted on that he had “no words” to describe his feelings.
“It’s a horror. Alexei Navalny has died. Recently, he was once again sent to solitary confinement, where he spent over 300 days in total,” Varlamov wrote.
“Today, the Federal Penitentiary Service wrote that he died during a walk. There are simply no words.”

In the first few hours, his post got almost 5,000 comments.

People expressed their sorrow, saying they had lost hope in the prospect of a democratic future for Russia.
“They didn’t just kill Navalny, they killed democracy, they killed Russia, they killed hope. The entire country is guilty of his death. He came back for the people, but the people didn’t support him,” one user wrote.
Exiled Russian political activist Maxim Katz, who has over 2 million YouTube subscribers, released , and more than 13,000 Russian speakers left their comments under it.
“It seemed like he was made of steel, that he would always be with us,” he said in the video.

“Even now it seems that any moment the news will come that he didn’t actually die, that it’s another hoax, that they tried to deceive us, and he’ll joke about it. […] But now he’s gone, he’s no longer here, and I’m writing an obituary. It’s impossible to believe for me, and probably for you as well.”

A man in the suit sitting at his desk

“It seemed like he was made of steel, that he would always be with us,” exiled Russian political activist Maxim Katz said about Navalny. Credit: YouTube channel @Max_Katz

His followers joined him in expressing disbelief and desperation.

“I’ve never felt so lonely in my life. I have family with me, so many friends and acquaintances, but I don’t even have anyone to tell how my hope for the future has been shattered,” one viewer commented.

Navalny’s message before his death

In the Oscar-winning Navalny documentary, the activist was asked to share his message in case he died.
“I have a very obvious thing to say: do not give up. You shouldn’t, you can’t give up. If this [death] happens, it means that we are exceptionally strong at this moment since they decided to kill me,” he said.

“All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Therefore, we must not remain passive.”

What has the Kremlin said about Navalny’s death?

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called statements by Western countries about Navalny’s death “rabid and unacceptable”.
Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster Russia Today, wrote in her Telegram about Navalny’s death.

“I won’t even begin to explain to them [the West] that he has long been forgotten, that there was no point in killing him, especially before the elections, and that it is beneficial to completely opposing forces,” Simonyan wrote.

“What’s there to explain when they already know all this perfectly well.”
Some social media users seem to echo this statement.
“The most interesting thing is that Navalny’s death before the elections is not beneficial to Putin at all, and the only beneficiaries are the opposition and the coalition of countries imposing sanctions on Russia,” one Instagram user wrote.
“So, if this is a murder, then let’s think about who had the motive. Hint: it’s definitely not Putin and not Russia.”

– With inputs from SBS Russian.

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