Navalnyj manages to expose the machinations of the Russian regime even in court, and that is what makes him so dangerous for Putin. The fact that Navalnyj’s judge was apparently closely guided by the Kremlin, as his colleagues have explained, is not surprising, but it shows how nervous you have to be in leadership.
There are two ways Putin could be ousted: replaced by a more rational member of the elite, or perished in a popular uprising. In the latter case, Navalnyj would be a role model, he could even be a possible leader. By locking him away for many years and now isolating him even more, Putin wants to get rid of this danger.
Navalnyj’s return to Russia after the poison attack was fraught with great risk. He is now paying a high personal price for his fearlessness. But at least his organization is still able to make revelations from abroad, as research into a yacht that can possibly be attributed to Putin shows. The problem is that such insights are becoming increasingly difficult for Russian audiences to access. The clear cut in the media landscape, for which Putin used the war, also limits the reach of Navalnyj’s comrades-in-arms.