Kremlin Critic Alexey Navalny “Dies” in Prison

US President Joe Biden was unequivocal Friday in laying blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, saying regardless of the details still to come, “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible.”

Biden’s comments came as Russians risked detention Friday night in Moscow and elsewhere across the country, attending rallies and vigils in Navalny’s honor.

Navalny had been serving multiple sentences in a maximum security prison for fraud, extremism and other charges he denied as politically motivated. He was arrested shortly after returning to Russia following his recovery from a 2020 poisoning attempt that nearly killed him.

A chorus of European leaders have also been quick to blame the Putin regime. Russia’s prison service says “all necessary measures” were taken to save Navalny after he “felt unwell after a walk,” and that an investigation is underway.

Here’s the latest:

• More from Biden: Biden said the US doesn’t yet know “exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.” The US president said the opposition leader had “bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence, and all the bad things that the Putin government was doing.” He also said reports of Navalny’s death should galvanize the United States to provide funding for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Elsewhere in Washington, Sens. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and Bill Cassidy, a Republican, will introduce a bill to rename a section of a street near the Russian ambassador’s residence “Alexei Navalny Way.”
• Dozens detained in Russia: At least 73 people have been detained across Russia for attending vigils and rallies following Navalny’s death, according to OVD-Info, a human rights group that monitors Russian repression. Rallies sprung up in cities from Rostov-on-Don to St. Petersburg and the capital of Moscow. Many Muscovites who spoke to CNN on Friday described a sense of hopelessness. “You begin to have a desire to leave because you stop believing in positive changes,” said Artur, a 27-year-old biologist interviewed by Agence France-Presse.
• Analysis: CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh said Navanly’s death comes at an unexpected time for Russia and the Kremlin. It does not seem that Putin needed Navalny to die now. The dissident’s voice had been quieted as he served time on the Arctic circle. “Yet still, Vladimir Putin felt a degree of threat,” Paton Walsh wrote. News of Navalny’s death came shortly before Russia’s presidential election, scheduled to take place on March 17, where Putin is widely expected to win a fifth term.
• Dive deeper: You can review Navalny’s life in photos and view this timeline of key events for the opposition figure. The CNN film chronicling the attempted assassination of Navalny in 2020 airs Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on CNN and is streaming on Max.