Publications
He's long been a thorn in the side of the Russian leader and for years the Kremlin has tried to silence him – yet despite the fact he’s been persecuted, poisoned and jailed he refuses to be muzzled.
And Alexei Navalny’s latest deed of defiance might well be his boldest yet. The 44-year-old Russian activist and politician recently released a video that’s had jaws dropping around the world – and clearly rattled Russian president Vladimir Putin.
The film is of what Navalny calls “Putin’s Palace”, a staggeringly ostentatious development second only in cost to Buckingham Palace. The R22,4 billion estate on the shores of the Black Sea spares no expense: included in the litany of luxury is a R14 000 toilet brush, a R20 000 toilet roll holder, a R896 000 custom-made Italian table and a R432 000 sofa.
