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Episode details

World Service,28 Aug 2020,53 mins

The Navalny ‘poisoning'

The Real Story

Available for over a year

Alexei Navalny is Russia's best-known anti-corruption campaigner and opposition activist. Today he lies gravely ill in a Berlin hospital. The German doctors treating him say he appears to have been poisoned. Navalny has been a longstanding critic of President Vladimir Putin, and his anti-corruption activities have highlighted the huge asset holdings of Russia’s political elites. His online activism draws tens of thousands of people to the streets across the country in protest against a range of injustices. So what do we know about what has happened to Mr Navalny and his recent activities? Will his hospitalisation galvanise the opposition? And what of the timing - can the Kremlin afford a backlash now when Russia’s closest neighbour, Belarus, is gripped by anti-regime protests? Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of expert guests to discuss how events have changed the picture in Russia.

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