Alexei Navalnyan anti-corruption activist and sworn enemy of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is serving a 19-year prison sentence for ‘extremism’. In early December, Navalny was transferred to a prison in Russia’s Arctic known as the “Arctic Wolf.” His transfer lasted almost three weeks, during which he was unable to communicate with his family or his lawyers.

The prison where the opponent is held is located in Jarp, a penal colony, and the conditions are extremely toughS. For starters, temperatures in this area drop to 30 degrees below zero, especially in winter.

Alexei Navalny’s whereabouts were made public, the Russian opponent was transferred to a prison in the Arctic

During this season, the sun does not even rise most days, plunging the prisoners into darkness.

“Conditions are tough, with a special regime in the permafrost – frozen ground –,” Leonid Volkov, one of Navalny’s aides, said on X (formerly Twitter). “It is very difficult to get there and there are no letter delivery systems.”.

IK-3 penal colony

This Russian prison It was built in the 1960s to become a gulag, a forced labor camp to send people who opposed the regime. It is 3,200 km away Moscowthe capital of Russia, and currently houses dangerous prisoners guilty of serious crimes.

According to US intelligence services, Russia tried to undermine elections in nine democratic countries.

Isolation is the main safety of the place, as there are miles of tundra and polar mountains surrounding the prison, making it difficult for prisoners to escape.

“Well, now I have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat (fur hat with flaps covering the ears) and soon I will have valenki (traditional Russian winter boots),” Navalny said in a statement when he arrived at the prison. He even joked that he was Santa Claus.

“The 20 days of the transfer were quite tiring, but I am still in a great mood,” he said. (JO)