Grigory Yavlinsky’s web-site, 21.08.2021

Photo: Alexei Navalny is being taken to the plane by ambulance. / Photo by AP / Scanpix

A year has passed since the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. Neither those who ordered, nor those who actually committed the crime have been identified.

Once again, it is important to declare: a comprehensive international investigation of this crime is necessary. No journalistic disclosures on YouTube can replace a formal legal investigation involving specialists, forensic experts and lawyers. However, almost no one is demanding an official investigation, while this is the main issue.

Alexei Navalny’s poisoning is not just a crime. This is evidence of the existence in Russia of government-sanctioned “death squads” involved in state terror against political opponents of the Kremlin. In addition, the extremely alarming issue of the use of a chemical warfare agent remains on the agenda. It requires a reliable identification of the perpetrators and the customers, the disclosure of the entire mechanism of the crime. This is vital.

Over the past year, the Russian authorities have not even tried to investigate Alexei Navalny’s poisoning. Demonstrative and categorical disregard by the state of such a high-profile crime can testify only to one thing – the involvement of the state.

Back in early September last year, we called for the creation of an international investigation team to clarify the circumstances of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. Another refusal of the Russian court (in May this year) to investigate it went almost unnoticed. There was no reaction to this not only in Russia, but also in the West. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who came to meet Vladimir Putin on the anniversary of the poisoning, did not say anything about the need to solve the crime.

It is extremely important to conduct a comprehensive investigation of what happened a year ago, as well as to convincingly solve other similar crimes. Over the past 20 years, there have been murders and attempts on the lives of a number of Russian politicians and public figures. Yuri Shchekochikhin was fatally poisoned, Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, Natalya Estemirova were killed. These people were harsh and consistent critics of the authorities and personally of Vladimir Putin. However, none of these political assassinations have been convincingly solved.

Investigation into the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, murders and attempts on the lives of other Russian politicians and public figures is the programme requirement of the Yabloko party in the upcoming State Duma elections. We will not back down and will do our best to achieve official investigations and punishment of those responsible.

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Grigory Yavlinsky

is Chairman of the Federal Political Committee of the Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO, Vice President of Liberal International, PhD in Economics, Professor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.