The 2.5-hour flight by Russian carrier Pobeda took off from Berlin Brandenburg airport and is scheduled to land in Vnukovo, Moscow, which was heavily guarded by police on Sunday.
Navalny arrived in Germany five months ago in a coma after being poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade nervous agent developed by Russia during the Soviet years. After an extraordinary recovery, Navalny seems ready to return to his thorn role on the side of President Vladimir Putin, apparently not being intimidated by death.
He thanked all the other passengers on the flight when he and his wife, Yulia Navalnya, boarded the plane in Berlin, according to a live broadcast on TV Rain.
“Thanks to all of you, I hope we make it,” said Navalny. “And I’m sure everything will be absolutely great.”
Several Western officials and Navalny himself openly blamed the Russian state for the poisoning, which the Kremlin denied.
On Wednesday, Navalny told his supporters on social media that “come find me” when he arrives in Moscow. He said his decision to return home was spontaneous.
The Russian authorities reacted quickly. On Thursday, the country’s prison authority (FSIN) said it was required to “take all steps to detain” Navalny before a hearing he is due to attend.
Moscow officials have also issued a warning to those planning to meet Navalny at the airport, saying the city saw the meeting as an unauthorized demonstration. In recent months, Russia has passed several laws to contain the protests and authorities have arrested peaceful protesters.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Navalny wrote a post to thank Germany, adding that the Germans were “nice, nice and friendly people”.
“Doctors and nurses. Physiotherapists and policemen. Many policemen. The neighbors who invited us to drink and those who allowed us to rent. Politicians and lawyers. Shopkeepers. Journalists. The prosecutors who questioned me at the request of Russia. Coaches. Teachers. And even even once, the Chancellor. I had a big circle of friends here. And I can only say a big thank you to everyone. “
Navalny, who has been detained by Russian authorities many times, was placed on the country’s federal wanted list during his stay in Germany at the request of the FSIN, which in December accused him of violating parole terms in a fraud case years ago . rejects as politically motivated.
FSIN now claims that Navalny violated the terms of his suspended sentence by failing to attend scheduled inspections.
FSIN asked the court to replace the suspended sentence with a real one. A hearing is scheduled for January 29, and if the request is granted, Navalny will likely be jailed for 3.5 years.
In 2014, Navalny was found guilty of fraud after he and his brother Oleg were accused of embezzling 30 million rubles ($ 540,000) from a Russian subsidiary of French cosmetics company Yves Rocher. While Navalny was sentenced to a suspended sentence, his brother was arrested.
Angela Dewan and Claudia Otto of CNN contributed to this report.