Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny has published his first message from the Arctic prison he has been transferred to, telling his followers on X, formerly Twitter, not to worry about him after an absence of more than two weeks that raised concerns about his well-being.
"I'm totally relieved that I've finally made it," Navalny said in a series of posts on December 26 from the prison in the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district. "Thanks again to everyone for your support. And happy holidays!"
Navalny joked that he was "still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus." He said he now has a sheepskin coat and a fur hat with flaps to cover his ears and expects to receive winter footwear. He also said he grew a beard during his transfer, which he said lasted 20 days and was "quite tiring."
"They brought me on Saturday evening (December 23). And they transported me with such precautions and on such a strange route...that I did not expect anyone to find me here before mid-January," he said.
He also said he was "very surprised" on December 25 when his lawyer arrived to see him. He also described some of the conditions in the prison, saying he "went for a walk" to a neighboring cell that was a "bit bigger with snow on the ground." He added that from his cell window he can only see a fence that is very close.
Navalny was transported to the Arctic prison from a prison in the Vladimir region about 240 kilometers east of Moscow. The Kremlin critic was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August on extremism charges, on top of previous sentences for fraud. He says the charges are politically motivated, and human rights organizations have declared him a political prisoner.
Navalny's associates reported on December 25 that he was in correctional colony No. 3 in Kharp and that his lawyer had visited him.
The so-called Polar Wolf prison is one of the most remote, said Ivan Zhdanov on X on December 25.
"The conditions there are harsh, with a special regime in the permafrost zone. It is very difficult to get there, and there are no letter delivery systems," Zhdanov said.
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5 Things To Know About Russian Opposition Leader Aleksei Navalny
Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on CNN that Navalny and his team, including many who have fled the country amid pressure from the Russian authorities, will continue their work because they believe it's something Russia needs.
"Russia is repressed by a dictator," she said. Navalny "knows he needs to keep going."
Navalny has posed one of the most serious threats to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently announced he was running for reelection in March.
Putin is expected to comfortably win the election amid the continued sidelining of opponents and a clampdown on opposition and civil society that intensified after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Navalny survived a poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent in 2020 that he says was ordered by Putin. The Kremlin has denied any role in Navalny's poisoning.