Navalny Arrested Immediately Upon Return to Russia, Sparking Nationwide Anti-Putin Protests

In January 2021, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who had been recovering in Germany after being poisoned with a nerve agent, deliberately returned to Moscow despite the known risk of arrest. He was immediately detained by Russian authorities at Sheremetyevo Airport upon arrival. Navalny's arrest triggered large-scale, nationwide anti-Putin protests across Russia, with tens of thousands of demonstrators defying severe warnings from authorities to take to the streets demanding his release.

Subsequently, a Russian court ruled that Navalny had violated the terms of a previous suspended sentence, ordering him to serve two and a half years in prison. Western nations strongly condemned Russia's repressive actions and imposed a new round of sanctions. For conservatives, Navalny's defiance and subsequent imprisonment highlighted the systematic suppression of basic political freedoms and dissent by the Putin regime, demonstrating the unforgiving nature of the authoritarian system toward any democratic challenge.