Collision course: Russia prepares for Alexei Navalny’s return

Tension mounts ahead of Vladimir Putin’s outspoken critic ending his four-month involuntary exile on Sunday, Oliver Carroll writes, but will the poisoned Kremlin foe be arrested on arrival – and if so, how?

Masks of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and President Vladimir Putin are seen on sale at a souvenir stall in an underground passage in Saint Petersburg  (AFP/Getty)

Of all the people who could have advised Alexei Navalny on his future in or out of Russia, his longtime adviser Vladimir Ashurkov was better placed than most.  

The financier himself fled to London in 2014 after the Kremlin dropped heavy hints of a likely arrest – a direct consequence of him coordinating fundraising for Mr Navalny’s Moscow mayoral campaign the year before.

After four months of involuntary exile in Germany, Mr Navalny faced a similar question: risk almost certain arrest or worse in Russia, or enjoy the quiet life in Europe. Remarkably, the outspoken Putin critic opted for the former.