Russian opponents of Vladimir Putin restrained in Turkey but active in London and the Baltic countries

If Turkey strongly prevented Russian opponents from paying tribute to Alexei Navalny, other refuge countries allow them to express themselves, such as the Baltic countries and England. Our correspondents on site tell the story.

Like Yulia Navalnaïa, the widow of Alexei Navalny, the opposition to Vladimir Putin wants to continue abroad. Although it is not without danger, it is the only way to escape the Kremlin’s systematic repression. En Turkey, which welcomed several tens of thousands of Russian citizens after the invasion of Ukraine, it is impossible to commemorate the death of Alexei Navalny, but the Baltic countries and England are real havens of welcome for keep the resistance alive.

Turkey maintains its balancing act

No Turkish leader, not even President Erdogan, who is quick to comment on any significant current event, has publicly reacted to the death of Vladimir Putin’s main opponent. Turkey is currently hosting the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs during a forum on diplomacy in Antalya, particularly regarding security in the Black Sea. The country strives to maintain close ties with Moscow while engaging in dialogue with Ukraine.

But the few dozen Russian citizens who wanted to lay flowers in tribute to Alexeï Navalny in Istanbul, in front of the Russian consulate, were brutally dispersed by the police and some briefly arrested. While even in Russia tributes were tolerated, this was not the case in Turkey, opponents comment.

Firm crackdown by Turkish police

On February 16, the day his death was announced, a few dozen people tried to leave flowers and candles. Some carried signs demanding that the truth be revealed about the death of Alexei Navalny, or claiming that murderers always finish their work. Within minutes, the police violently dispersed the gatherings, considering them to be illegal political demonstrations.

Everyone knows that Turks, like other citizens here, cannot freely express their opinions: “We expected it”comments soberly the local coordinator of Project Ark, which supports opponents of the invasion of Ukraine. “Each of us must do something, even a very small thingsaid one of the participants of the Kadiköy rally, just as Navalny prescribed to us.”

The Baltic countries, a nearby asylum for democrats and journalists in exile

In the Baltic countries, the Russian opposition has found refuge in the capitals of these three countries bordering Russia. In Vilnius, the Russian opponents are not very visible and are even far from forming a united group, but on the day of the announcement of the death of Alexeï Navalny, February 16, they all gathered to pay tribute to him at the foot of the monument for the victims of Soviet repression. We saw Navalny’s team, part of which had taken refuge in Lithuania. But there were others too. The first Russian opponents arrived in Lithuania after the wave of repression of demonstrations during the Russian parliamentary elections in 2011. Then, there was another wave after the annexation of Crimea. The opposition is therefore very diverse. Nevertheless, Vilnius remains an important place. Numerous conferences and forums on free and democratic Russia are organized there, either by the opponents themselves, or also by Lithuania to catalyze the forces and bring everyone to the same table.

In Riga and Tallinn, it was mainly journalists who found refuge. They did not wait for the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine to work safely. The first to settle in Riga came in 2014 after the media lenta.ru was targeted by Russian authorities. Since then, many journalists have been welcomed in Latvia where an entire organization has been set up to help them.

In London, another active figure: Mikhail Khodorkovsky

The vast majority of opposition figures remaining in Russia are imprisoned. The others fled, notably to London. This is where Mikhail Khodorkovsky lives, who often attracts the wrath of the Kremlin. He does not hesitate to speak to the press, and has recently written two books offering his ideas on post-Putin Russia. He is one of the opposition figures who brings the protest to life from abroad. He even calls on Russians to go to the polling stations on March 17 and write Navalny’s name on the ballots as a sign of defiance. “If you didn’t know what to do on this day, then here is an answer for you“he said on social media.

As a reminder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been exiled in London since 2015. He is one of the rare former oligarchs to take a position and give interviews to the press. In 2003, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for large-scale fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement. And in just a few months, he went from being the richest man in Russia, who made his fortune in oil, to being a Kremlin pariah. By decision of Vladimir Putin, he was released after ten years and took refuge in Germany and then the United Kingdom.

There he established himself as an adversary of the Russian president and today he is one of the symbols of opposition to the Putin regime abroad. A few days ago, he wrote an article for Politico, in which he insists on the undemocratic nature of the Russian presidential elections. Any true opponent of Putin is prohibited from running in elections, he is either imprisoned, forced into exile or, like Navalny, assassinated, he explains. He salutes the courage of Alexeï Navalny and calls on the West to be firmer towards Putin.