Russia’s top opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who died Friday in an Arctic prison according to Russia’s penitentiary service, survived a poisoning attack in 2020 only to be sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony.
Here are 10 key dates in his campaign against Russian President Vladimir Putin:
2007: Anti-corruption campaigner
Navalny begins buying shares in state-owned oil giants to access company reports and scour them for evidence of corruption, which he documents on his blog.
The same year he is excluded from the liberal opposition party Yabloko for taking part in “nationalist activities”.
December 2011: Leads election protests
Navalny sets up the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which gains a huge following with exposes about the vast riches amassed by Kremlin elites.
In the winter of 2011-2012, he leads huge protests after parliamentary elections won by Putin’s United Russia party, a vote marred by allegations of fraud.
July 2013: Embezzlement conviction
He is convicted of defrauding the government in the Kirov region of 16 million rubles ($500,000) in a timber deal while acting as an advisor to the governor.
He denies the charges, claiming they are an attempt to silence him.
September 2013: Moscow mayoral bid
Navalny finishes a strong second behind Kremlin-backed incumbent Sergei Sobyanin in the race for mayor of Moscow.
His calls for a recount are dismissed.
March 2017: Medvedev ‘duck’ expose
Navalny’s video about the lavish lifestyle of then prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, which includes a claim that one of his estates has a duck house in the middle of a pond, sparks rallies.
December 2017: Barred from presidential election
He is blocked from running for president against Putin because of his embezzlement conviction.
He urges Russians to boycott the vote, which nonetheless sees Putin secure a fourth term.
August 2020: Poisoning
Navalny is hospitalized on August 20, 2020, in Siberia and placed in a medically induced coma after losing consciousness during a flight.
He is transferred to a hospital in Berlin, where tests show he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.
He accuses Putin of being behind his poisoning, which the Kremlin denies.
January-February 2021: Arrested and jailed
He returns to Moscow, where he is detained shortly after landing at the airport.
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate across Russia for his release.
In February, he is handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaching the conditions of a suspended sentence while recuperating in Germany, and sent to a penal colony.
August 2023: 19 year sentence
Navalny’s sentence is increased to nine years after a conviction on new charges of embezzlement and contempt of court.
A gaunt Navalny, who has experienced major weight loss in prison, is then sentenced to an additional 19 years at a harsher “special regime” facility on charges of “extremism”.
He goes missing for over two weeks in December 2023, before being located in a remote penal colony north of the Arctic Circle.
February 16, 2024: dies in prison
Navalny dies at the Arctic prison colony, Russia’s federal penitentiary service says in a statement.
It says Navalny lost consciousness after going for a walk and could not be revived by medics.
“The causes of death are being established,” it said.