"Over a year ago, the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison in Russia. We have written and recorded a demo of this song over the past few days, dedicated to his memory and his cause", writes Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe on the group's website.
The post is adorned with a picture of Navalny's flower-adorned grave.
"Free Russia, let Russia be freed from its past and its present and its heart-wrenching cruelty. Free Russia, let the Russians unite that power is worthless if no one is free",
the British duo, who have also previously expressed their support for Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky.The lawyer, blogger, and regime critic Alexei Navalny was known for his sharp criticism of President Vladimir Putin and the power sphere in the Kremlin and was often called "the man Putin fears the most".
In August 2020, he suddenly fell ill during a flight from Siberia. He was treated for a long time in Germany, where it was established that he had been poisoned with the nerve agent novichok. After recovering, Navalny returned to Russia in January 2021, where he was arrested.
Alexei Navalny died on February 16, 2024, under unclear circumstances at a penal colony in the northern Ural Mountains, 47 years old.
