Just before the presidential elections: Russian opposition leader dies in jail

The leader of widespread Russian protests and opposition against Putin, Alexei Navalny, has died of unknown causes in the penal colony where he had been held. The prison service reported this just a month before the presidential election in the country, which Putin is likely to win for another term in office.

Navalny was the only individual deemed strong enough to be able to threaten Putin's dictatorial rule. The Russian prison service stated that, "Navalny began to feel unwell after he went for a walk in the prison yard, and lost consciousness almost immediately upon his return to the cell".

In addition, according to the prison service, the medical teams at the detention center provided Navalny with medical treatment and performed "several resuscitation attempts", but in the end were unable to save his life.

This is not the first time that Putin's opponents have died in unclear circumstances. Over the past few years a series of political opponents have died in a variety of ways, inside and outside of Russia.