Navalny’s death: Putin-promoted head of the Russian penitentiary service

A promotion whose timing is intriguing. Just three days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a colony in Siberia, President Vladimir Putin awarded the deputy head of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) the rank of colonel general of the internal service.

Ivan Zhdanov, director of Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, shared on his X account on Tuesday a screenshot of a document showing Valery Boyarinev signing his new position. His promotion is “Putin’s reward for torture, pure and simple,” he writes. According to him, Valery Boyarinev “personally participated” in observing torture against his opponent.

The decree on his promotion can be found on the website of the legal information portal, an analogue of the Russian Official Bulletin. Valery Boyarinev is not the only one who received a promotion. The first chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, was awarded the same title.

Involved in torture

According to Russian independent media Sota and Novaya Gazeta, 53-year-old Valery Boyarinev has held the position of first deputy of the Federal Penitentiary Service since July 2022. However, he worked in the Russian prison service for more than ten years. According to Gulagu.net, under his leadership, Ukrainian prisoners were tortured to extract confessions from them in cases of executions of civilians. According to Sota, Valery Boyarinev could have been involved in torturing Alexei Navalny, in particular, by not allowing him to sleep and eat.

The reasons for his death on Friday are still unknown and his family has yet to see his body. According to Moscow, the investigation is “ongoing.” Investigators told Alexei Navalny’s relatives that they would hold the body for “at least 14 days” to examine it. For a family that accuses the Kremlin of involvement in the death of an opponent, Russian authorities are seeking to “cover their tracks.”