Russian opposition leader and Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison

The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said the  Putin critic "felt unwell" after a walk on Friday, and "almost immediately lost consciousness"

Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 29, 2020. Picture: AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died on Friday after collapsing and losing consciousness at the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle where he was serving a long jail term, the Russian prison service said.

Navalny, by far Russia's most famous opposition leader, rose to prominence more than a decade ago by lampooning the elite class round President Vladimir Putin and voicing allegations of corruption on a vast scale. He was 47.