On February 16, the world was shaken up by the news that Alexei Navalny, a longtime Russian opposition leader, had died at the age of 47.

Since 2011, Navalny has been most notable for his widespread criticism and disdain for the corruption in the current Russian government led by Vladimir Putin. Through the use of social media and organized demonstrations, Navaly raised awareness of the political situation inside of Russia internationally, even going as far as calling Putin and his allies a “party of crooks and thieves.” Navalny was deliberately targeted by Putin’s regime several times.

Navalny also ran unsuccessfully for the mayorship of Moscow in 2013, and was barred from running for president in 2018. 

Although Navalny’s loss looms large, as he was Putin’s most famous critic, it should not cause onlookers to the crisis to lose focus on the major issues facing Russia, argues Alex Siarny, a Hinsdale South junior. “Although people definitely have a right to be angry, we shouldn’t lose sight of the major conflict or of the efforts of so many other Russian dissidents. There should be more concern that Putin has been killing other political adversaries for decades, and that Russian children have suffered for so long,” Siarny stated.