Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's fearsome way of ruling, many people still have the courage to oppose and criticize him.
But, for the past few years, many of Vladimir Putin's top critics faced mysterious fates. You can see this in what happened to Alexei Navalny, one of the Russian president's top critics who recently died in prison.
Aside from him, others also died or faced punishments, such as imprisonment or getting exiled. To give you more idea, here are the top critics of Vladimir Putin and what happened to each of them.
In December 2023, Alexei Navalny went mission after getting imprisoned for around three weeks. But, he made huge headlines after his death was confirmed on Feb. 16.
This was confirmed by the Russian prison service; saying that he died at the age of 47. However, authorities didn't confirm if he was assassinated nor provided the main cause of his death.
For those who don't know him, Alexei Navalny was the most prominent opposition leader of his time. He was jailed in early 2021 after returning to Russia, NDTV.
Before that, he was staying in Germany while trying to recover from a near-deadly poisoning attack with nerve agent Novichok. However, when he returned in 2021 to Russia, he faced a 19-year imprisonment on charges filed by independent rights groups.
After around two years, Vladimir Putin's critic was moved to a remote Arctic prison colony in Russia's Yamalo-Nenets region in northern Siberia. Officials said that this is where he died after losing consciousness during a walk.
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Al Jazeera listed other top critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin and what happened to each of them. These include the following:
Yevgeny Prigozhin
Who is he: Prigozhin was a very close friend of Vladimir Putin, He was even given the nickname "Putin's chef." However, the strong bond ended after he and his mercenary group, Wagner Group, mounted an armed rebellion against the Russian government.
What happened to him: He died in a plane crash back in August 2023. His death came after criticizing the Russian military for failing to achieve their military goals.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Who is he: a former oil tycoon who challenged Vladimir Putin during the president's early days of ruling.
What happened to him: He was imprisoned for around a decade. Khodorkovsky was then exiled after his release in 2013. He's now living in London and financing media projects that are essential to Russia.
Alexander Litvinenko
Who is he: a former Russian spy who decided to turn against Vladimir Putin.
What happened to him: He died in November 2006. Before his death, he met another former Russian agent and drank a cup of tea in a supermarket. He fell ill and spent the entire night vomiting. Authorities confirmed that he was poisoned with a radioactive isotope called polonium-210.
Boris Nemtsov
Who is he: Nemstov was a former deputy prime minister and a notable Russian critic.
What happened to him: He was shot dead while walking home across a Moscow bridge near the Kremlin. Authorities claimed that some Chechen men killed him, but the mastermind was never found.
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Who is he: Kara-Murza was a Russian politician who opposed Vladimir Putin and his government.
What happened to him: He was imprisoned for 25 years. Kara-Murza was placed in jail back in April 2023 after commenting about the Russia-Ukraine war. He was accused of spreading false information regarding Russian troops and was allegedly connected with an "undesirable organization."
