Imprisoned Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Tuesday confirmed his arrival in what he described as a snow prison above the Arctic Circle and said he was in excellent spirits despite the grueling 20-day journey to get there.
Navalny posted an update on X through his lawyer after allies lost contact with him for more than two weeks while he was in transit with no information on where he was being taken, prompting expressions of concern from Western politicians.
His spokesman said on Monday that Navalny, 47, had been traced to the IK-3 prison colony north of the Arctic Circle located in Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets region about 1200 miles northeast of Moscow.
“I’m your new Father Frost,” Navalny jokingly wrote in his first post from his new prison, referring to the harsh weather conditions there.
“Well, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka (wool hat with ear flaps), and soon I will get valenki (traditional Russian winter boots).
Navalny said he had been placed in a prison colony above the Arctic Circle for nearly three weeks after losing contact with him. Reuters
“The 20 days of transfer are quite exhausting, but I’m still in a very good mood, as Father Frost should be.”
Navalny’s new home, known as the “Polar Wolf” colony, is considered one of the toughest prisons in Russia.
Most of the prisoners there have been convicted of serious crimes.
Winter is harsh – and temperatures will drop to around minus 18.4 Fahrenheit there over the next week.
A group of officers walk inside a prison colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow. AP
About 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the prison was founded in the 1960s as part of the GULAG system of Soviet forced labor camps, according to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper.
Navalny, who thanked his supporters and everyone for their concern for his welfare during his long transfer, said he had seen guards with machine guns and guard dogs and had gone for a walk in an exercise area he said was in a neighboring cell, the floor of which he said covered in snow.
Otherwise, he said he just saw the perimeter fence out the cell window.
“Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m good. I am very happy that I finally made it here,” said Navalny.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
