He’s been poisoned, almost blinded, arrested and jailed but Alexei Navalny isn’t cowed.
It’s a story Hollywood couldn’t make up. An epic tale of power and brinkmanship, corruption and courage.
In this battle of the titans, two men fight about the future of the world’s largest country, Russia.
One is Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and avowed democrat.
The other is the ruthless strongman – President Vladimir Putin.
In this battle of the titans, Navalny has been poisoned, almost blinded, arrested and jailed. But this isn’t stopping him.
Six months ago, Putin’s fiercest opponent lay on his death bed in a German hospital, poisoned by a nerve agent, a substance made by the Soviet military.
Down but not out, Navalny recovered and on a crazy-brave mission, returned to Russia to keep fighting.
As Navalny was arrested and hauled off to prison, his team upped the stakes, releasing a film documenting the existence of a one and a half billion dollar palace which they say belongs to Putin.
As people across Russia rise up to protest against Putin and his excesses, Navalny’s inner circle are directing operations outside the country.
“The ultimate victory from us would be Russia without Vladimir Putin…because we understand that absolutely the majority of our problems…they come from him personally”, says Maria Pevchikh, who heads up Navalny’s investigations unit.
In this exclusive report, former Russia correspondent Eric Campbell speaks to Navalny’s key advisors to find out what motivates their leader and what their next steps will be.
And we hear from the ordinary people of Moscow who are braving freezing temperatures and police to voice their opposition.
