INDEPENDENT
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has issued his first statement after disappearing for nearly three weeks.
Mr Navalny vanished shortly after Vladimir Putin announced his intention to run for a fifth presidential term in early December. On Christmas Day, Navalny’s lawyers said they had tracked him down to one of Russia’s toughest prisons.
On Tuesday, the jailed critic made a series of bizarre posts on X, formerly Twitter, discussing the details of the past few weeks, during which many feared for his life.
Playing on the theme of being found on Christmas Day in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle, Mr Navalny began his statement by describing himself as the new Santa Claus.
Mr Navalny said he was very surprised to have been found, adding that he expected to be missing until at least mid-January.
He wrote: “The 20 days of my transportation were pretty exhausting, but I’m still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus.
“They brought me here on Saturday night. And I was transported with such precaution and on such a strange route (Vladimir – Moscow – Chelyabinsk – Ekaterinburg – Kirov – Vorkuta – Kharp) that I didn’t expect anyone to find me here before mid-January.
“That’s why I was very surprised when the cell door was opened yesterday with the words: ‘A lawyer is here to see you.’ He told me that you had lost me, and some of you were even worried. Thanks very much for your support!”
Alexey Navalny on Twitter: “1/9 I am your new Santa Claus.Well, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat (a fur hat with ear-covering flaps), and soon I will get valenki (a traditional Russian winter footwear). I have grown a beard for the 20 days of my transportation. / Twitter”
1/9 I am your new Santa Claus.Well, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat (a fur hat with ear-covering flaps), and soon I will get valenki (a traditional Russian winter footwear). I have grown a beard for the 20 days of my transportation.
