The mysterious, violent and unsolved deaths of Putin’s foes and critics

Vladimir Putin’s critics have been the victims of shootings, poisonings and even a plane crash. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via AP

Vladimir Putin’s foes and critics have often met with violent deaths at the very peak of their conflicts with the Kremlin leader during his nearly quarter-century in power.

Alexei Navalny’s death, which many foreign leaders and supporters say is murder, came after he was banished to an Arctic Circle prison, where he was regularly thrown in a punishment cell, exposed to the elements and significantly malnourished. Western officials including the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and vice-president, Kamala Harris, have directly blamed the Kremlin for his death.