Thousands of protesters swarm Russian embassies after Biden says Putin IS responsible for ‘murder’ of Alexei Navalny

THOUSANDS of protesters swarmed Russian embassies to express their outrage over the death of Alexei Navalny.

Many chanted slogans critical of Vladimir Putin, whom they blamed for the activist’s death, holding up signs calling him a “killer” and demanding accountability.

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Hundreds of activists hold a vigil outside Russian embassy in London[/caption]

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Police officers detain a woman who laid flowers for Alexei Navalny in St. Petersburg, Russia[/caption]

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Protesters held placards in London that called Vladimir Putin a war criminal[/caption]

Putin visited a plant in Russia and smiled to himself as he makes the rounds

The last picture of Navalny behind bars in Russia – appearing via video link in court

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United States President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the death of Navalny[/caption]

Prison authorities said Navalny fell unconscious and died after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” Colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence.

Navalny, Putin’s leading domestic critic in Russia, had bravely challenged the tyrant’s rule and his horrific war in Ukraine.

And many of his supporters expressed fears that he would be assassinated while behind bars serving a 19-year sentence.

“Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” US President Joe Biden said in remarks from the White House.

He added: “Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth.”

In Berlin, a crowd of around 500 to 600 people gathered on the city’s Unter den Linden boulevard chanting in a mixture of Russian, German and English.

Some shouted “Putin to the Hague”, referring to the international criminal court investigating possible war crimes committed in Ukraine.

Police used barriers to close off the road between the Russian embassy and the crowd.

“Alexei Navalny is the leader of the Russian opposition and we always kept hope in his name,” said a Russian man draped in a blue-and-white anti-war flag, giving his name only as Ilia.

In Lithuania, formerly run from Moscow but now a member of NATO and the European Union, protesters placed flowers and candles by a portrait of Navalny.

“He was always with us, so it is all surreal,” said Lyusya Shtein, 26, a Pussy Riot activist who has lived in Vilnius since leaving Russia in 2022.

“None of us yet understand what happened,” she added.

In Russia itself, prosecutors warned Russians against participating in any mass protest in Moscow.

Police watched as some Russians came to lay roses and carnations at a monument to victims of Soviet repression in the shadow of the former KGB headquarters.

Rights group OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, said that more than 100 people had been detained at rallies in memory of Navalny.

Groups also gathered in Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sofia, Geneva and The Hague.

More than 100 protesters stood outside Russia’s London embassy, holding placards that called Putin a war criminal.

While in Lisbon hundreds held a silent vigil.

Pavel Elizarov, a 28-year-old Russian living in Portugal, said Navalny had been “a symbol of freedom and hope.”

Near the Russian embassy in Paris, where around 100 protesters gathered, Natalia Morozov said Navalny had also been a symbol of hope for her.

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What we know so far…

• Officials at the ‘Polar Wolf’ jail where Navalny was held claim he collapsed during a walk outside and died
• Ukraine’s Zelensky and Latvian president Rinkevics claim Putin murdered the Kremlin critic
• The dad-of-two, aged just 47, had sent his wife a heartfelt Valentine’s letter days before his reported death
• His mum Lyudmila said she saw Navalny a few days ago and he seemed healthy and cheerful
• Navalny was last pictured appearing in court via video link – he looked thin and had a shaved head
• The Kremlin enemy had spent 308 days locked up in Russia on trumped-up charges – including for extremism and terrorism
• British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Putin should be ‘held accountable’
• Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said she has had no official confirmation of his death – but a lawyer is investigating

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Morozov said: “It’s hard for me to express my emotions, because I’m really shaken.

“Now we no longer have hope for the beautiful Russia of the future”.

Navalny’s wife, Yulia, was in Munich on Friday, where a vigil also took place.

She told the Munich Security Conference she could not be sure her husband was dead because “Putin and his government… lie incessantly”.

Yulia said that if confirmed she wanted them to know “they will bear responsibility”.

On the other side of the Atlantic, at a vigil outside the Russian consulate in New York City, Violetta Soboleva said she had volunteered for Navalny’s presidential campaign in 2017.

“I really believed that he’s the one and he can lead Russia to a better future,” said Soboleva, a Russian studying for her doctorate in New York.

She continued: “And now we’ve lost this future forever.”

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A woman holds flowers and a portrait of Navalny in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, Germany[/caption]

Navalny in hospital with his wife Yulia at his bedside

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People gather in front of the Russian Embassy in Madrid, Spain[/caption]

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Russians and Poles gathered before the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, Poland[/caption]

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People place candles and flowers in Lisbon[/caption]

It comes after tyrant Putin was snapped smirking yesterday.

Putin appeared sickeningly cheerful as he greeted people mere hours later at a public event.

In a press conference, US President Biden had his say on the death of Navalny.

He said: “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death.”

“What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality,” Biden continued.

“Putin does not only target the citizens of other countries. He also inflicts terrible crimes on his own people.”

Latvian president Edgars Rinkevics raged on X that Navalny was “brutally murdered by the Kremlin”.

And Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy raged: “Obviously, Putin killed him”.

Navalny, one of Putin’s greatest enemies, was locked away on trumped-up charges after a sham trial and has been vocal about his fears of assassination.

He was first picked up by Vlad’s brutal police in 2021 after returning to Russia following an assassination attempt.

In total he spent 308 days banged up – and there were reports that a sadistic Putin even demanded to see live footage of the 47-year-old undergoing punishment and being humiliated by guards. 

Navalny also went missing from a hellish Russian jail last year – and his supporters warned at the time that he could be executed.

He was later found in one of the toughest prisons in the country in Siberia – known as “the Polar Wolf” colony.

Prison chiefs said his death was confirmed at 2.17pm local time but confusion has clouded the shock news.

Navalny’s legal team had received no formal confirmation of his death and his frantic family are still seeking proof that the reports are not more Kremlin lies.

Exiled Russian politician Dmitry Gudkov has fumed that even if Putin did not have Navalny assassinated – his death would still be the tyrant’s fault.

“Even if Alexey died from ‘natural’ causes, they were caused by his poisoning and further prison torture. Blood is on Putin,” he fumed.

A statement from prison officials today read: “On February 16, 2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convict Navalny A.A. felt unwell after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness.”

An ambulance reached the brutal jail in just seven minutes – getting to Navalny’s side in another two, Interfax reported.

“The doctors who arrived at the scene continued the resuscitation measures that were already being provided by the penal colony’s doctors,” said the local hospital.

“And they spent more than half an hour. However, the patient died.”

He was seen for the last time in court – via video link.

His head was shaved and he looked thin – but appeared to be keeping positive and even made some jokes.

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Flowers and signs are placed outside the Russian Consulate for Navalny[/caption]

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Navalny was locked up on bogus charges at the ‘Polar Wolf’ Colony[/caption]

Putin visits the Forge-and-Press Plant in Chelyabinsk

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A woman lights a candle in Sofia, Bulgaria[/caption]

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Protesters stood outside the Russian embassy in Prague[/caption]

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A poster with a portrait of Navalny with words reading ‘Alexei Navalny killed by the fascist regime’[/caption]

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People gather at the monument to the victims of political repressions in Saint Petersburg[/caption]