Former Colleague Claims Navalny Was Nearly Freed in Prisoner Swap

Facts

• Maria Pevchikh has alleged on the Youtube channel of former colleague Alexi Navalny that the late Russian politician was going to be freed in the near future via a prisoner swap that was nearly completed before his death on Feb. 16.¹
• On Feb. 17, Kira Yarmysh, a spokesperson for Navalny, confirmed that Navalny had died at 2:17 p.m. (local time) the day prior. Navalny's team alleged that the late politician had been murdered, with his body now being held at a morgue in Salekhard, Russia.²
• Pevchikh claims that the exchange included FSB agent Vadim Krasikov — who is currently serving time for murder in Berlin, Germany, in exchange for two American citizens as well as Navalny.³
• Pevchick continued that Navalny's team had attempted to negotiate an agreement for two years before presenting an offer in Feb., that American and German officials 'shook hands, promised, and did nothing,' and that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich informally mediated discussions.⁴
• In Dec. 2021, Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Georgian-Chechen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Aug. 2019, an action that German Foreign Minister Alma Baerbock alleged was 'murder by state contract,' consequently expelling two Russian diplomats.⁵
• Speaking to the Financial Times, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Petrov claimed that he was 'not aware of such agreements' when asked if a deal had been negotiated for an exchange between Krasikov and Nalvany.⁶

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²Twitter, ³The Guardian, ⁴Washington Post, ⁵DW and ⁶TASS.

Narratives

• Anti-Russia narrative, as provided by Free Russia Foundation. It's certain that Navalny was brutally murdered, having experienced years of prison and intricate torture. Navalny stood for everything that Russia and Putin have sought to oppress, and the democratic world cannot let such behavior go unpunished. Russia's people will prevail over the tyranny it currently finds itself under, and Navalny will be immortalized as a martyr who inspired a generation to hope.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Global Research. It's no coincidence that the West has pointed fingers at the Kremlin — and Putin personally — over Navalny's tragic natural death, as its propaganda machine is now at full tilt to try to divert focus from defeats in Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza. If Western countries did live up to what they preached, Julian Assange, for example, wouldn't be subject to torture for exposing the US' ruthless killings.

Predictions