Putin says he agreed to swap Alexei Navalny for prisoners held in the West

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that he agreed with the idea of a prisoner swap involving opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony, and “some people in prison in Western countries.”

Putin’s comments came after NBC News asked, “Mr. President, journalist Evan Gershkovich spent this election in prison, Boris Nadezhdin, who opposes your war in Ukraine, was not allowed to stand against you and Alexei Navalny died in one of your prisons during your campaign. Mr. President, is this what you’d call democracy?”

Putin, who rarely speaks Navalny’s name, said in response that “several days before Mr. Navalny perished, I was told by some of my colleagues … that there is an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people in prison in Western countries.”

“Believe me or not, the person talking to me hardly finished their sentence when I said: ‘I agree.’ But unfortunately, the thing that happened happened,” Putin added, speaking as he declared victory in the country’s elections.

Putin’s remarks came on the last day of a national election in which he was leading with 88% of the vote. His expected win, following a relentless crackdown on dissent, will extend his nearly quarter century of rule for six more years. 

Navalny’s supporters have alleged that Putin had him killed to thwart an imminent prisoner swap that would have freed him and two Americans. Five sources told NBC News that such a deal was being negotiated but that it was not imminent when Navalny died Feb. 16 at age 47.

Putin said the swap would have had one condition — that Navalny never return to Russia.

Putin’s remarks came on the last day of a national election in which he was leading with 88% of the vote. His expected win, following a relentless crackdown on dissent, will extend his nearly quarter century of rule for six more years. 

Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who is in Berlin, was offered the chance to come to Russia and see her husband but she chose to stay abroad, Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, later told NBC News.

Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner who led opposition to Putin for more than a decade, spent his last days in a Russian penal colony above the Arctic Circle. Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said he died after returning from a walk and saying he felt unwell.

In 2020, Navalny almost died after being poisoned with a military grade nerve agent while on a trip in Russia. He was taken to Germany for treatment, and was arrested after returning to Russia — spending his final years behind bars following a conviction on extremism-related charges.

His death has been widely blamed on the Kremlin. In a fiery speech at the White House the same day Navalny died, President Joe Biden said he had “no doubt” the critic’s death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

The next week, Biden announced more than 500 sanctions he said were designed to hold Russia accountable for Navalny’s death and for the country’s war with Ukraine. The sanctions target people connected to Navalny’s imprisonment, as well as Russia’s financial and defense sectors, Biden said.

“They will ensure Putin pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home,” the president said on Feb. 23.