Vladimir Putin’s number one political opponent, Alexei Navalny, has died in prison

Vladimir Putin’s top political enemy, Alexei Navalny, has died in prison after years of being targeted by the regime.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who for years was President Vladimir Putin’s chief political opponent, died on Friday at the remote prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence, according to Russia’s federal penitentiary service.

Mr Navalny, who was just 47 years old, was being held in a jail about 65 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, having been convicted on fraud and extremism charges he’d characterised as political retribution.

He had previously led campaigns against corruption in Russia, where Putin’s regime routinely imprisons and, human rights groups allege, kills dissenters.

“Navalny felt bad after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness,” the penitentiary service claimed in a statement.

“Medical staff arrived immediately and an ambulance team was called. Resuscitation measures were carried out which did not yield positive results.

“Paramedics confirmed the death of the convict. The causes of death are being established.”

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has died in prison. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Navalny, who has suffered serious health problems in jail, was apparently put in solitary confinement again before his alleged death - the Human Rights Foundation claimed.

Putin’s number one enemy went missing during his stint in a hellish Russian gulag last year - and his supporters warned he could be executed.

The head of Navalny’s FBK party Maria Pevchikh said: “We are worried for his life.

“He’s in the hands of the very same people who tried to kill him before.

“If they once got an authorisation to murder Navalny, do they have another one now or is the last one still valid. Navalny’s life is constantly at a high risk.”

Navalny was poisoned by the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in August 2020, which he claimed was an assassination attempt by the Kremlin.

He was thrown into prison for more than 30 years on trumped-up charges of extremism and fraud.