Kremlin critic Navalny describes transfer to harsh ‘Polar Wolf’ prison in Russian Arctic
- Navalny arrived at the Arctic ‘Polar Wolf’ colony – considered one of the toughest prisons in Russia – on Saturday following a 20-day journey
- A court in August extended his sentence to 19 years on extremism charges, and ruled he be moved to a harsher ‘special regime’ prison
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Tuesday confirmed his arrival at what he described as a snow-swept prison above the Arctic Circle and said he was in excellent spirits despite a tiring 20-day journey to get there.
Navalny posted an update on X via his lawyers after his allies lost touch with him for more than two weeks while he was in transit with no information about where he was being taken, prompting expressions of concern from Western politicians.
His spokeswoman said on Monday that Navalny, 47, had been tracked down to the IK-3 penal colony north of the Arctic Circle located in Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets region about 1,900km (1200 miles) northeast of Moscow.
“I am your new Father Frost,” Navalny wrote jokingly in his first post from his new prison, a reference to the harsh weather there.
“Well, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat (a fur hat with ear-covering flaps), and soon I will get valenki (traditional Russian winter footwear).
