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Alexei Navalny is a Russian nationalist but he may still be good news for Ukraine UkraineAlert by Andreas Umland
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears in court in Moscow on February 2, 2021. (Press service of Simonovsky District Court/Handout via REUTERS)
The failed poisoning and subsequent imprisonment of Alexei Navalny has catapulted the Russian anti-corruption activist to the top of the international agenda in recent months. This has served to fuel renewed interest in his biography, and not everybody has been impressed by what they have uncovered.
Inevitably, attention has focused on Navalny’s unpalatable past associations with Russian nationalism. His outspoken comments on topics such as immigration and his use of ethnic slurs have led many to question Navalny’s suitability as a potential alternative to the authoritarian rule of Vladimir Putin.
While two later returned, Abroskin, Zinchenko, and Yanishevskiy remain out of reach from Ukrainian prosecutors, prompting political infighting and torpedoing hopes for an imminent conclusion.
Yevhenia Zakrevska, a lawyer for a group of plaintiffs in the case, blames the Ukrainian leadership particularly President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for letting the Berkut officers slip away and showing weakness before Russia. This was a terrible insult to justice, Zakrevska said in written comments.
Further complicating the situation is that current legislation is murky when it comes to prosecuting people in absentia, so while Tamtura s and Marynchenko s fate could be determined by a court this year, proceedings against the other three remain frozen.