Putin Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Breaks Silence From Arctic Prison After Shocking Disappearance: 'Don’t Worry About Me'
Alexei Navalny broke his silence from an Arctic Circle prison nearly three weeks after he disappeared from Russia’s IK-6 penal colony.
Dec. 26 2023, Updated 12:35 p.m. ET
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny broke his silence from an Arctic Circle prison nearly three weeks after he disappeared from Russia’s IK-6 penal colony earlier this month, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a sudden development to come after Navalny, 47, disappeared on December 6, the Russian opposition leader and Vladimir Putin critic arrived at a prison located above the Arctic Circle on Monday.
Navalny arrived at a prison located above the Arctic Circle on Monday.
According to Navalny’s lawyers, the imprisoned opposition leader endured a 20-day journey as he was transferred from the IK-6 penal colony to the IK-3 penal colony.
The IK-3 penal colony, which was dubbed the “Polar Wolf” colony, is reportedly located approximately 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow in the Yamal-Nenets region of Russia.
“I am your new Father Frost,” Navalny quipped from his new prison on Tuesday. “Well, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat, and soon I will get valenki.”
“The 20 days of the transfer were quite tiring, but I’m still in an excellent mood, as Father Frost should be,” he continued. “Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m awfully glad I finally made it here.”
“I am your new Father Frost,” the Putin critic quipped from his new prison on Tuesday.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Navalny disappeared from his cell inside the IK-6 penal colony on December 6 and was declared missing until he re-emerged at the IK-3 penal colony on Monday.
Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said that the jailed opposition leader is “doing well” and confirmed that she had contacted the imprisoned anti-corruption activist.
Navalny's chief strategist, Leonid Volkov, also confirmed that the Putin critic arrived to the Kharp penal colony. Volkov emphasized that it is “almost impossible” to visit IK-3.
"It is almost impossible to get to this colony; it is almost impossible to even send letters there,” he said. “This is the highest possible level of isolation from the world.”
“Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I’m awfully glad I finally made it here.”
Navalny’s sudden disappearance caused immediate concern, and some sources close to the jailed opposition leader feared that Putin had executed Navalny after he went missing from IK-6 earlier this month.
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“We are worried for his life,” said Maria Pevchikh, the leader of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, last week. “He’s in the hands of the very same people who tried to kill him before.”
“If they once got an authorization to murder Navalny, do they have another one now or is the last one still valid,” Pevchikh continued. “Navalny’s life is constantly at a high risk.”
Some sources close to the jailed opposition leader feared that Putin had executed Navalny after he went missing from IK-6 earlier this month.
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Navalny’s spokesperson also expressed concerns about his possible whereabouts and health status.
“Where he was taken is not known. Let me remind you that the lawyers have not seen Alexei since December 6,” Yarmysh explained. “Why they were not allowed to meet with him, if Alexei was still in IK-6, we do not know.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the matter and refused to disclose where Navalny was being kept.
“Here we are talking about a prisoner who has been found guilty under the law and is serving his sentence,” Peskov said shortly before Navalny arrived to the IK-3 penal colony above the Arctic Circle. “And here we consider any interference by anyone, including the U.S., as unacceptable and impossible.”
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