A doctor who helped recover after poisoning says the politician had suffered from no immediate health issues or severe strain.

The circumstances of the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny leave little doubt that he was murdered, and perhaps on another day than the Federal Penitentiary Service announced his death, according to Meduza and other independent outlets.

Many journalists remembered that in December 2023 he was secretly transferred from the Vladimir prison to Penal Colony #3 in Harp, 60 kilometers north of the Polar Circle, alluding to premeditation in action.

Until now, his family, political associates and colleagues at the Anti-Corruption Foundation have been unable to locate and recover Navalny’s body, accusing the authorities of deliberately hiding his body in order to avoid an independent forensic examination.

Russian propaganda was quick to blame a blood clot as the cause of Alexei Navalny’s death on February 15, though no official forensic examination had been conducted immediately and no official report has been released yet.

On 17 February, a prison official told Navalny’s mother that her son died of “sudden death syndrome.”

Lawyer Leonid Solovyov stated that he last visited Navalny on Wednesday, 14 February, and everything was normal. Doctors interviewed by Meduza admit that Navalny’s health deteriorated in detention – which was made tough for the politician at orders by President Vladimir Putin, but they see no reason for a “sudden death.”

Meduza spoke with reanimatologist Alexander Polupan, who was part of the medical team that treated Navalny in Omsk after his poisoning and regularly consulted with the opposition leader's associates. 

Polupan said:

"I don't have exclusive information about Navalny's health - neither I nor my staff have it.

I spoke with Alexei's relatives only when there were obvious deteriorations in his health, and based on the information I have, there were no significant or critical deteriorations in this regard.

“It's clear that [overall] his health was poor - as is expected for anyone placed in such conditions. But for some reason, it seems to me that natural death due to health conditions is unlikely. Firstly, they [propagandists] immediately started talking about a detached thrombus [blood clot] - something that cannot be confirmed without an autopsy. They could have said 'sudden cardiac arrest,' but thromboembolism (blockage of an artery by a thrombus) can only be determined through autopsy. There are no other methods.

“Alexei had no objective risks of thromboembolism - no venous diseases in the lower extremities, thrombophilia, thrombosis, and so on. Thrombi usually travel to the pulmonary arteries from the veins in the lower extremities and the pelvis. Accordingly, risk factors include leg problems, such as prolonged immobilization after fractures, or oncological processes in the pelvic organs. Alexei had none of this. A risk factor could be atrial fibrillation, but that wasn't the case either.

“Some time ago, he had back problems, but they were absolutely non-life-threatening, only causing discomfort. There was pneumonia a long time ago, but recently, I repeat, there were no acute issues. There was neuropathy after the poisoning with 'Novichok,' but it is typical in such poisoning.

“Can murder be disguised as thromboembolism? If an honest autopsy is conducted, the thrombus should be visible. The diagnosis of 'thromboembolism' cannot be made without finding a detached thrombus. However, they can do anything - falsify the autopsy protocol. And no one will be able to verify anything."

Whatever happened to Alexei Navalny, Putin bears the direct responsibility for his death. 

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