Alexey Navalny (@navalny) is the leader of the Russian democratic opposition and the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Navalny became known for his anti-corruption investigations on state companies and senior government officials. In 2013, he came in second in Moscow’s mayoral election. In 2018, he campaigned but was not allowed to appear on the ballot for the Russian presidential election. In August 2020, he was poisoned with Novichok, a military nerve agent, on the orders of Russian officials. Navalny spent a month in a coma, but managed to survive.

In January 2021, after a period of rehabilitation in Germany, he returned to Russia, while the Anti-Corruption Foundation released a documentary, “Putin’s Palace,” investigating President Putin’s enormous luxury palace and the corruption scheme surrounding its construction. The investigation has garnered nearly 120 million views on YouTube. Upon his return to Russia, Navalny was arrested and imprisoned on the grounds of a fabricated criminal case, the verdict of which the European Court of Human Rights has already declared a violation of international law.

A speech authored by Navalny will be delivered on his behalf at the Oslo Freedom Forum.