Down to minus 32 degrees – Navalny apparently has to be put in solitary confinement in ‘Polarwolf’.

Navalny regularly reports harassment by prison authorities, who repeatedly send him to solitary confinement for alleged rule violations.

This time, he said, the guards accused him of not presenting himself properly. According to Navalny’s spokeswoman, this is the 24th time he has been in such a punishment cell. Navalny has already spent a total of 273 days in isolation.

In late December, Navalny was transferred to a remote penal colony in Russia’s Arctic region. During the 20-day detention transfer, his relatives had received no news from Navalny and were very concerned about him.

Navalny in Penal Colony “Polarwolf”
His supporters suspect that Russian authorities are trying to further isolate Navalny ahead of presidential elections in March, which will see current President Vladimir Putin emerge victorious.

Navalny is said to be based in this region:

The penal colony where Navalny is currently being held is also called the ‘Arctic Wolf’ and is a successor to the Soviet Gulag. The opposition politician shared a photo of a small enclosed prison compound where he can walk early in the morning in freezing temperatures.

“Lovely fresh air”
Navalny, who likes to take an ironic tone in his messages, spoke of the “wonderful fresh air that blows into the courtyard despite the wall” and emphasized that the mercury had not yet dropped below minus 32 degrees Celsius.

Navalny is considered Putin’s fiercest domestic critic. After a poison attack, for which he blames the Kremlin, he traveled to Germany for treatment. In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was immediately arrested.

Under a verdict handed down against him this summer, Navalny must serve his sentence in a colony with harsher prison conditions. These are generally only intended for life sentences and particularly dangerous prisoners.