Putin nemesis Navalny in 10 dates

PARIS, France — Russia's top opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died Friday in an Arctic prison according to Russia's penitentiary service, survived a poisoning attack in 2020 only to be sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony.

Here are 10 key dates in his campaign against Russian President Vladimir Putin:

Navalny begins buying shares in state-owned oil giants to access company reports and scour them for evidence of corruption, which he documents on his blog.

The same year he is excluded from the liberal opposition party Yabloko for taking part in "nationalist activities".

Navalny sets up the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which gains a huge following with exposes about the vast riches amassed by Kremlin elites.

In the winter of 2011-2012, he leads huge protests after parliamentary elections won by Putin's United Russia party, a vote marred by allegations of fraud.

He is convicted of defrauding the government in the Kirov region of 16 million rubles ($500,000) in a timber deal while acting as an advisor to the governor.

He denies the charges, claiming they are an attempt to silence him.

Navalny finishes a strong second behind Kremlin-backed incumbent Sergei Sobyanin in the race for mayor of Moscow.

His calls for a recount are dismissed.

Navalny's video about the lavish lifestyle of then prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, which includes a claim that one of his estates has a duck house in the middle of a pond, sparks rallies.

He is blocked from running for president against Putin because of his embezzlement conviction.

He urges Russians to boycott the vote, which nonetheless sees Putin secure a fourth term.

Navalny is hospitalised on August 20, 2020, in Siberia and placed in a medically induced coma after losing consciousness during a flight.

He is transferred to a hospital in Berlin, where tests show he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.

He accuses Putin of being behind his poisoning, which the Kremlin denies.

He returns to Moscow, where he is detained shortly after landing at the airport.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrate across Russia for his release.

In February, he is handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaching the conditions