Nearly half of Russians say that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was rightly imprisoned for violating parole while recovering abroad from a poisoning attack, according to an independent survey published Monday.
The Levada Center polling agency said 48% of Russian respondents consider Navalny’s sentence of two and a half years in one of the country's most notorious penal colonies to be fair.
Only 29% of respondents called Navalny’s verdict unjust, according to the poll results.
The 44-year-old opposition figure was immediately jailed in January on returning from Germany, where he spent months recovering from a near-fatal poisoning he claims was carried out on President Vladimir Putin's orders. The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on high-ranking Russian officials over Navalny’s poisoning and imprisonment.
Navalny, who has complained of severe back pain and loss of sensation in one of his legs along with deprivation of sleep by prison guards, last week declared a hunger strike to demand proper medical treatment.
His senior aides have launched a campaign to collect half a million signatures from supporters in order to set a date for new mass rallies in his support. Previous nationwide demonstrations this year led to more than 10,000 detentions, dozens of criminal cases against protesters and widespread claims of police violence.
Levada’s survey also showed high awareness — as well as a clear generational divide — toward Navalny’s imprisonment, with more younger respondents calling it unjust than their older counterparts.
Half of Levada’s respondents aged 18 to 24 said Navalny was imprisoned unjustly, compared with 19% of those aged 55 and over.
Overall, 82% of those polled said they have closely followed or heard about the anti-corruption campaigner’s incarceration.
Levada conducted the in-person survey in partnership with Russia’s Open Media investigative news website among 1,623 respondents in 50 Russian regions between March 25-31.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
