Hospital: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is out of a medically induced coma
 
 
After being placed in a medically induced coma, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is "being weaned off mechanical ventilation" and is "responding to verbal stimuli," Berlin's Charité Hospital announced on Monday.
Last week, the German government said tests showed "unequivocal evidence" that a "chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group" was used to poison Navalny, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Charité Hospital said it "remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects" of Navalny's "severe poisoning."
Navalny became sick on Aug. 20 while on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. Before being flown to Berlin, Navalny was treated by Russian doctors who claimed he was not poisoned. The Kremlin has denied playing any role in the incident.
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.
In 2018, a Novichok nerve agent was used to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy living in England, and his daughter. These chemical weapons were first developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and few scientists outside of Russia have much experience working with them, CNN reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
- 
 Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes? Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes?Today's Big Question There are ‘powerful’ fiscal arguments for an income tax rise but it could mean ‘game over’ for the government 
- 
 Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’ Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’The Week Recommends Tate Modern’s ‘revelatory’ show includes 250 works examining Nigerian art pre- and post independence 
- 
 To the point: the gender divide over exclamation marks To the point: the gender divide over exclamation marksTalking Point 'Men harbouring urges to be more exclamative' can finally take a breath – this is what using the punctuation really conveys 
- 
 France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heist France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum 
- 
 Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched family Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange 
- 
 Thieves nab French crown jewels from Louvre Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon 
- 
 Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 years Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down 
- 
 Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Fire Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people 
- 
 4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan church 4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire 
- 
 2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school mass 2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school massSpeed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis 
- 
 Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murders Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms 
