In recent years, a dark strategy of intimidation and fear has spread across Russia. The silencing of political opposition in Russia has become a chilling reality. 

Scholars Daniel Treisman and Sergei Guriev note that Russian president Vladimir Putin is more likely to use manipulation to silence the nation rather than violence. Various leaders like Putin use their power to influence people’s mindsets and emotions. 

For Alexei Navalny however, Putin’s methods turned from manipulation to violence. Navalny was one of the most renowned Russian opposition leaders. In 2011, he started the Foundation for Fighting Corruption. This organization focused on exposing alleged corruption among Russian politicians. Navalny had been fighting for his basic human rights since 2013, after his house arrest for alleged embezzlement of the cosmetics company, Yves Rocher. This did not stop him. After a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence, his foundation never failed to keep updating the people of Russia on the corruption. 

After his long fight for his freedom and innocence, he announced in 2016 that he would run in Russia’s 2018 presidential election. Soon after his announcement, he released a video exposing the corruption of then-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. As the video gained traction, more people stood up against propaganda and mass arrests occurred. Unidentified harassers threw acid in Navalny’s face, damaging his right eye. 

Navalny’s fight grew more difficult after he was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent called Novichok in Aug. 2020. This was allegedly done by the Russian Federal Security Service. After waking up from the coma he blamed the Russian government for his attempted murder. 

He was recovering in Germany during this time, having plans on his arrival to Russia. Upon the return to his home country, Navalny was arrested with authorities alleging that he had violated the terms of his suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case. In Feb. 2021, Navalny was ordered to serve two and a half years in prison for his parole violation.

While continuing to serve his time, another nine years were added to his sentence for embezzlement and contempt of court in a case. During this time, Russia saw some of its largest protests in years, accompanied by hundreds of arrests as well.

In Apr. 2023, Navalny said he was facing new extremism and terrorism charges, but this was still not certain. As the trial came to an end, Navalny was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison. On Feb. 16, 2024, after a tedious and horrifying fight for peace, Alexei Navalny died at a penal colony at the age of 47.

While the paperwork said he passed away from “natural causes,” it is believed that he was a victim of the Russian government’s silencing of anti-corruption speakers through assassination. 

Navalny was not the only one allegedly targeted, however. Yevgeny Prigozhin was so close to Putin that he was called his “personal chef” until things changed, and he later orchestrated a violent uprising against Putin.

The Wagner Group is a private military group run by Prigozhin, who was allied with Putin.

A year after Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, the Wagner Group was placed in Ukraine. Prigozhin accused the Russian military of attacking his Wagner troops. This later caused major controversy regarding whether the Wagner Group was allied with Russia or not. 

The Wagner Group marched to Moscow in hopes of establishing their detachment from the Russian army. Prigozhin halted their march to Moscow after he claimed not wanting to shed any Russian blood, but that did not mean things would end smoothly for him. 

Two months after his march, Prigozhin was on a plane back to Moscow where he soon was met with the harsh reality of the Russian government’s boldness. Prigozhin was reported dead in a plane crash north of Moscow. While there are many conspiracy theories swarming around his death, the general public assumes Putin or the Russian government were involved. 

This reflects how corrupted the government has become. The people of Russia live their lives in fear after seeing what happened to previous protesters against corruption. The Russian government has shown the world and their people how unreliable they are in keeping their country safe. The amounts of alleged assassinations prove that point.