CNN –
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has spoken out for the first time since his sudden disappearance several weeks ago, after his team said on Monday they had finally located him in a penal colony in Siberia.
Navalny, a staunch Kremlin critic, shared a message on social media through his associates on Tuesday expressing his “relief” after enduring what he said was a 20-day prison transport spanning thousands of miles.
“They brought me here on Saturday evening. And I was transported with such caution and on such a strange route (Vladimir – Moscow – Chelyabinsk – Yekaterinburg – Kirov – Vorkuta – Charp) that I did not expect that anyone would find me here before mid-January,” Navalny wrote on X .formerly Twitter.
“The 20 days of my transport have been quite tiring, but I'm still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus,” he said, adding that he was doing well and was “totally relieved” to be making the trip finally finished.
According to CNN calculations, Navalny covered more than 3,700 miles (around 6,000 kilometers) in the 20 days of his trip, an average of 185 miles per day.
Navalny was imprisoned in a penal colony about 250 kilometers east of Moscow – until his lawyers announced they had lost contact with him on December 11. An intensive search operation followed – and on Monday they announced that they had found Navalny in the IK-3 prison colony in the village of Kharp, about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region.
His disappearance sparked immediate concerns about his well-being and came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would run for re-election in March next year.
Putin has de facto ruled Russia since 2000 and is becoming more and more autocratic with every decade. Opposition figures like Navalny were regularly imprisoned, silenced or fled into exile.
Navalny is Russia's best-known opposition politician. During Putin's rule, Navalny used his blog and social media to expose alleged corruption in the Kremlin and Russian business circles and organized street protests against the government.
Even behind bars, his Instagram and Twitter accounts have continued to launch attacks on Putin with messages delivered through his team.
In his final posts, Navalny said he had met with his lawyer, thanked supporters for their concern and that he was fine.
His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, told CNN on Tuesday that Navalny's health was no worse than before his transfer, although the process had been “very physically demanding.”
Navalny's posts on Tuesday suggest he remains in solitary confinement, although he said he went for a walk in a garden.
“I saw a convoy, not like in central Russia, but like in the movies – with machine guns, warm gloves and felt boots. And with the same beautiful fluffy German Shepherds,” he wrote on X. “Thanks again everyone for your support.” And happy holidays!”
Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after being found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activities and numerous other crimes. He was already serving an 11-and-a-half-year sentence in a maximum-security facility on fraud and other charges, which he denies.
Navalny's supporters claim his arrest and detention are a politically motivated attempt to suppress his criticism of Putin.