Vladimir Putin nemesis Alexei Navalny in 11 dates

Russian anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny starts buying shares in state-owned oil giants, to access company reports and scour them for evidence of corruption, which he documents on his blog. He is expelled from the liberal opposition party Yabloko due to his involvement in "nationalist activities".

Navalny sets up the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which gains a huge following with exposes about the vast riches amassed by Kremlin elites. In the winter of 2011-2012, he leads huge protests after parliamentary elections are won by Putin's United Russia party, a vote marred by allegations of fraud.

He is convicted of defrauding the government in the Kirov region of 16 million roubles ($500,000) in a timber deal while acting as an advisor to the governor. Denying the charges, he claims they are an attempt to silence him.

Navalny finishes a strong second behind Kremlin-backed incumbent Sergei Sobyanin in the race for Moscow mayor. He demands a recount, but the calls are dismissed.

He releases a video exposing the lavish lifestyle of then prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, which includes a claim that one of his estates has a duck house in the middle of a pond.

Alexei Navalny is blocked from running for president against Putin because of his embezzlement conviction. He urges Russians to boycott the vote. Putin still secures a fourth term.

Navalny is hospitalised on August 20, 2020, in Siberia and is placed in a medically induced coma after losing consciousness during a flight. Upon transfer to a hospital in Berlin, tests show he was poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. He accuses Putin of being behind his poisoning, the claim is denied by Kremlin.

Navalny recovers from the poisoning and returns to Moscow, where he is detained shortly after landing at the airport. In February, he is handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaching the conditions of a suspended sentence while recuperating in Germany, and sent to a penal colony.

His sentence is increased to nine years after a conviction on new charges of embezzlement and contempt of court. Navalny is then sentenced to an additional 19 years at a harsher "special regime" facility on charges of "extremism".

Navalny goes missing for over two weeks in December 2023, before being located in a remote penal colony north of the Arctic Circle.

Navalny reportedly dies in prison. As per Russia's federal penitentiary service Navalny lost consciousness after going for a walk and could not be revived by medics. The reports of his death are yet to be confirmed by Navalny's team.