Russian opposition leader Navalny 'risks his life every day'

As Russia’s most determined and durable opposition figure, Alexei Navalny has employed an astute understanding of social media and an accountant’s ability to we through financial data, a knack for sardonic humor and fierce resolve in face of repeated threats.

Navalny, a lawyer by training, earned a reputation as a Kremlin enemy writing about official corruption. His activism expanded to organizing anti-government protests and seeking political office, and over years he'd experienced frequent jailings, a chemical attack and an unexplained illness.

w, his family, friends and supporters have a new reason to worry. 44-year-old opposition remained in grave condition in a Siberian hospital Friday more than a day after he became ill on a flight back to Moscow and fell into a coma. His allies suspect he drank poisoned tea before boarding plane.

His wife wants him moved to a clinic in Germany that has treated or Russian dissidents. After anuncing that y found poison in Navalny's system, doctors in Siberia refused to authorize transfer, saying his condition was too unstable.

His suffering is a shock and a worry to supporters who see him as a stalwart n Russia's beleaguered opposition.

“Many times I was asked publicly and privately how I can support this terrible Navalny ... I always answered same way: Alexei Navalny risks his life every day for his beliefs,” Grigory Chkhartishvili, a dissident author ted for detective vels under pen-name Boris Akunin, said on social media after Navalny's illness was anunced..

Navalny began his rise to prominence by focusing on corruption in Russia’s murky mix of politics and business. In 2008, he bought shares in Russian oil and gas companies so he could push for transparency as an activist shareholder.

Navalny’s work to expose corrupt elites h a pocketbook appeal to Russian people's widespre sense of being cheated. Wher he was writing for his website or running for public office, his target likely better resonated with potential supporters than more abstract goals such democratic ideals and human rights.

Russia’s state-controlled television channels igred Navalny, but his investigations of dubious contracts and officials' luxurious lifestyles got wide attention through back channels of YouTube videos and social media posts. information uncovered by his Fund For Fighting Corruption mostly overrode reservations Navalny's nationalist streak and his vocacy for rights of ethnic Russians raised, even in opposition circles.

Navalny also understood power of a pithy phrase and a potent im. His description of President Vlimir Putin’s power-base United Russia party as “ party of crooks and thieves” attained instant popularity. A lengthy investigation into n-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s lavish country getaway boiled down to property's well-appointed duck house; yellow duck toys soon became a way of deriding prime minister.

founder of two opposition political parties, he also also be flippant in face of difficulty, tweeting sarcastic remarks from police custody or courtrooms on many occasions he was arrested. In 2017, after an assailant threw green-hued disinfectant in his face, seriously damaging one of his eyes, Navalny joked in a video blog that people were comparing him to comic book character Hulk.

Navalny frequently was jailed for participating in protests - or sometimes even as he heed to m . Online video reports of protests brocast from Navalny’s studios sometimes were enlivened by on-camera police raids.

He also faced more serious legal troubles. In 2013, on day after Navalny h registered as a candidate for Moscow mayor, he was sentenced to five years in prison for an embezzlement conviction. He was accused of stealing timber from a company in a region where he was an viser to reformist goverr.

But in a hugely surprising move, prosecutor’s office appealed sentence hours later.

opposition attributed his release to massive protests that greeted news of Navalny's imprisonment, but many observers thought it was a calculated move by authorities to make sure mayoral election two months later carried a tint of legitimacy.

Navalny ended up placing second, an impressive performance against incumbent mayor with backing of Putin’s political machine and who was popular among Muscovites for improving capital’s infrastructure and aestics.

embezzlement conviction was eventually reinstated, and Navalny was convicted, along with his bror Oleg, in ar embezzlement case in 2014. His bror received a 3 1/2-year prison sentence, while Navalny's sentence was suspended.

Although he did t get sent to prison, conviction blocked Navalny from being able to carry out his plans to run against Putin in Russia's 2018 presidential election. His own legal obstacles and widespre obstruction authorities set before or independent candidates seeking public office led Navalny and his organization to opt a new strategy for 2019 Moscow city council elections.

“Smart Vote” initiative analyzed which candidate in each district appeared to have best chance of beating United Russia's pick and tried to drum up support for that candidate.

initiative appeared to be a success, with nearly half of city council seats going to “systemic opposition” candidates, although its effectiveness could t be quantified. Navalny intended to redeploy same strategy in next year’s national parliament elections.

But Moscow city council races may have foretold even worse troubles for Navalny. While jailed last summer for taking part in a pre-election protest against exclusion of many independent candidates, Navalny became ill and was taken to a hospital.

official version was that he h suffered an allergic reaction. His supporters and some doctors said at time that poisoning appeared to be a more likely explanation.