Alexey Navalny, who was known for exposing corruption in the Kremlin and leading protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin, has passed away in a remote penal colony, according to prison authorities. Navalny was 47 at the time of his death on Friday at IK-3, one of Russia’s northernmost prisons. He was a lawyer and securities expert and lived with his wife, Yulia, and their two children, Daria and Zahar, in southeastern Moscow. Navalny rose to fame by exposing the graft of top officials, including Putin.
He was well-known for churning out muckraking exposes of corruption in the Kremlin and leading protests that propelled him to YouTube stardom. He took a nearly lethal position as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political nemesis. He has used to live with his wife, Yulia, and two children, Daria and Zahar, in a drab concrete high-rise in southeastern Moscow, rose to fame in the late 2000s by exposing the graft of top officials, including Putin. First as a lone LiveJournal blogger and gradually with a team of researchers and producers, Navalny released dozens of investigations backed with bank records, leaked documents, maps, blueprints of properties, photos, and drone footage.