The prominent Russia opposition leader Alexei Navalny is back in prison to finish his 30-day sentence after being taken to the hospital following a severe allergic reaction on Sunday, the same day Moscow's citizens took to the streets to protest local election authorities for disqualifying independent candidates from the Moscow city council ballots. Navalny was in jail for calling the protests.
Navalny's lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, said he has "gotten better after an intense treatment," but she remains "categorically" opposed to his return to prison while it remains unclear what caused the reaction — Navalny reportedly had no known allergies before Sunday. Mikhailova added that there was no consultation with a toxicologist or any toxicological test results.
Navalny's personal doctor said that Navalny was "poisoned by some sort of unknown chemical substance," backing up Mikhailova's concerns, Deutsche Welle reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that while the lack of clarity has raised such speculation, Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny's top aides, rejected conspiracy theories and instead criticized the standard hygiene standards at the detentions center. Volkov said he had a similar reaction when he was held in the same cell as Navalny last month.
Sunday's protests resulted in police detaining more than 1,300 demonstrators after a violent crackdown. Russia courts began sentencing the protesters on Monday.
-
September 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
