MOSCOW, Feb 16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny,

who died in an Arctic prison on Friday, leveraged social media and fatigue
with the Kremlin to rise to prominence.

He was for years the most prolific critic of President Vladimir Putin and his
policies, returning to Russia after recovering from a near-fatal poisoning
attack that his supporters say was orchestrated by the Kremlin.

He was immediately imprisoned on his arrival and on Friday could not be
revived by medics when he lost consciousness after going for a walk, the
prison service said.

During his time behind bars, the 47-year-old appeared in grainy videos from
makeshift court hearings, daring to slam Putin over his offensive in Ukraine.

His message -- relayed to fans through social media content -- contrasted
dramatically to that of Putin, a Soviet-styled, 71-year-old former KGB agent
who has ruled for over 20 years.

"(Russia) is floundering in a pool of either mud or blood, with broken bones,
with a poor and robbed population, and around it lie tens of thousands of
people killed in the most stupid and senseless war of the 21st century,"
Navalny said in one statement.

His criticism, which resonated with thousands of young supporters, proved a
source of irritation for a Kremlin that rights groups accused of wiping out
dissent by any means necessary.

His death will only exacerbate these concerns.

- 'I am not afraid' -

In 2018, he had campaigned across the country to be president, published
corruption investigations that embarrassed the Kremlin and rallied massive
crowds onto Russia's streets.

His return to Russia in January 2021 despite facing jail put him on a
collision course with Putin, after Navalny blamed the poisoning attack in
Siberia on the Kremlin.

"I'm not afraid and I call on you not to be afraid," he said in an appeal to
supporters as he landed in Moscow, moments before being detained on charges
linked to an old fraud conviction.

His arrest spurred some of the largest demonstrations Russia had seen in
decades, and thousands were detained at rallies nationwide calling for his
release.

Navalny's team countered Putin with the release of "Putin's Palace," an
investigation into a lavish Black Sea mansion that his team claimed was
gifted to Putin through corruption.

The expose forced a rare denial from Putin, who quipped that, if his security
services had really been behind the poisoning, they would have finished the
job.

While Navalny trafficked confidently in memes, Putin is known both for not
using the internet and asking a teenager who wanted him to follow his YouTube
channel: "What should I sign?"

A similar Navalny corruption video targeting then prime minister Dmitry
Medvedev spurred large demonstrations in 2017, with protesters carrying
rubber ducks which became a symbol of the protests.

Ahead of a presidential election in 2018, Navalny toured cities across the
country to drum up support but was barred from running because of the old
fraud charge.

"(Putin) fears me and he fears the people I represent," he told AFP at the
time.

Before that he had challenged Sergei Sobyanin to become Moscow mayor and
forced a runoff.

- 'Crooks and thieves' -

At rallies and in courtrooms, Navalny was a convincing public speaker and
rallied protesters around home-grown slogans like "the party of crooks and
thieves" to slam the ruling United Russia party.

But he was been tainted by an early foray into far-right nationalism, and a
pro-gun video from 2007 routinely resurfaced in which he compared people from
the ex-Soviet South Caucasus region to cockroaches.

Navalny also remains a fringe figure for a large portion of Russian society,
who back the Kremlin's official portrayal of him as a Western stooge and
convicted criminal.

He had become such a thorn in the Kremlin's side that Putin refused to
pronounce his name in public. His anti-corruption group was shuttered and his
top allies are either imprisoned or in exile.

- 'Cannot shut my mouth' -

Navalny's team said he had been harassed in prison and repeatedly moved to a
punitive solitary confinement cell.

He said guards had subjected him and other inmates to "torture by Putin",
making them listen to the president's speeches.

Still Navalny was upbeat and sardonic on social media accounts curated by
aides, even despite his conditions.

The lawyer by training had fought for basic rights and taken prison officials
to court. He had also tormented them, filing formal requests for a kimono and
a balalaika -- a traditional musical instrument -- and to be allowed to keep
a kangaroo.

"You cannot shut my mouth," he declared.