MOSCOW – Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny announced Wednesday that he plans to return to Russia this weekend, four months after he was evacuated to Germany after an assassination attempt in Siberia.
“The question of whether or not to come back never crossed my mind,” wrote Navalny on Instagram. “That’s because I didn’t leave. I ended up in Germany – in an intensive care box – for a simple reason: they tried to kill me. “
Navalny was poisoned in Siberia in August, where he was placed by local doctors in an artificial coma. His condition was described as serious and, after several days of lobbying efforts by the German government and activists, he was taken in a medical ambulance to Berlin.
Once in Berlin, German scientists determined that the toxin was a type of Novichok nerve agent. This weapon was created by the Soviet Union, and Russia claims to have destroyed its stocks of the substance. Several independent laboratories in several countries supported Germany’s conclusions.
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Novichok was also used by Russian secret agents in an attempt to assassinate former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the UK in 2018. Russia has denied involvement in that attempt, as well as denying charges of attempted assassination of Navalny.
“I survived,” wrote Navalny in his post. “And now, Putin, who gave the order for my murder, screams across the bunker and orders his servants to do everything they can to keep me from coming back. Servants act as they always do: they fabricate new criminal charges against me. “
Navalny has been signaling for months that he plans to return to Russia after recovering from the poisoning. During that time, he faced additional legal challenges from the government and Putin’s allies.
Navalny and his supporters interpret this message as a message to say that it would be better to stay in Germany.
“But what they do doesn’t interest me,” wrote Navalny on Wednesday. “Russia is my country. Moscow is my city. I miss them So this morning I went to the Pobeda website [airlines] and bought tickets. On the 17th of January, Sunday, I will return home. “
Navalny made clear his intention to return in an interview in October. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at the time said that Navalny, as a Russian citizen, has every right to return. However, Peskov and other officials also said that Navalny is a CIA asset.
Navalny’s return sets the stage for a potentially dramatic confrontation between the Putin regime and its most prominent critic.