Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Alexei Navalny

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Alexei Navalny made an impact.

Alexei Navalny was a prominent Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist. As the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in 2011, he investigated and exposed alleged corruption within the Russian government. Navalny faced multiple arrests and imprisonments throughout his career, which were widely viewed as politically motivated. Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience, and he received the Sakharov Prize for his human rights advocacy. He was a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and a key figure in Russian opposition movements, advocating for democratic reforms and increased government transparency. He died in prison in February 2024.

Sections (6)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

1998: Worked as a corporate lawyer

From 1998 onward, Alexei Navalny worked as a corporate lawyer for various Russian companies.

2000: Joined the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko

In 2000, Alexei Navalny joined the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko, following the announcement of a new law that raised the electoral threshold for State Duma elections.

2001: Listed as a member of Yabloko

In 2001, Alexei Navalny was listed as a member of the Yabloko party.

2002: Elected to the regional council of the Moscow branch of Yabloko

In 2002, Alexei Navalny was elected to the regional council of the Moscow branch of Yabloko.

2003: Headed Moscow subdivision of Yabloko's election campaign

In 2003, Alexei Navalny headed the Moscow subdivision of the Yabloko party's election campaign for the parliamentary election held in December.

April 2004: Chief of Staff of the Moscow branch of Yabloko

In April 2004, Alexei Navalny became the Chief of Staff of the Moscow branch of Yabloko.

August 2005: Admitted to the Social Council of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow

In August 2005, Alexei Navalny was admitted to the Social Council of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow.

2006: Member of the Federal Council of the party Yabloko

From 2006 to 2007, Alexei Navalny was a member of the Federal Council of the party Yabloko.

2006: Appealed to Moscow City Hall to conduct the nationalist 2006 Russian march

In late 2006, Alexei Navalny appealed to the Moscow City Hall, asking it to grant permission to conduct the nationalist 2006 Russian march, while also condemning ethnic hatred and xenophobia.

February 2007: Remained Chief of Staff of the Moscow branch of Yabloko

In February 2007, Alexei Navalny remained Chief of Staff of the Moscow branch of Yabloko.

December 2007: Expulsion from Yabloko

In December 2007, Alexei Navalny was expelled from Yabloko for his nationalist views and for participating in the Russian March after the party lost legislative election to Russian State Duma by receiving only 1.6% votes.

2008: Activist Shareholder

In 2008, Alexei Navalny sought to become an activist shareholder in five Russian oil and gas companies (Rosneft, Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, and Surgutneftegas), investing 300,000 rubles to increase the transparency of their financial assets.

2009: Member of advocate's chamber of Kirov Oblast

In 2009, Alexei Navalny became an advocate and a member of advocate's chamber (bar association) of Kirov Oblast (registration number 43/547).

April 2010: Navalny Awarded Finance Magazine Prize

On April 22, 2010, Navalny received the Finance magazine prize for protecting the rights of minority shareholders.

October 2010: Winner of Online Moscow Mayoral Poll

In October 2010, Alexei Navalny won an online poll for the mayor of Moscow, conducted by Kommersant and Gazeta.Ru, receiving about 45% of the 67,000 votes cast.

November 2010: Publication of Transneft Documents

In November 2010, Alexei Navalny published confidential documents about Transneft's auditing, alleging that about US$4 billion were stolen by Transneft's leaders during the construction of the Eastern Siberia–Pacific Ocean oil pipeline.

2010: Member of advocate's chamber of Moscow

In 2010, Alexei Navalny ceased to be a member of advocate's chamber of Kirov Oblast due to his move to Moscow, and became a member of advocate's chamber of Moscow (registration number 77/9991).

May 2011: Launch of RosYama

In May 2011, Alexei Navalny launched RosYama, a project that allowed individuals to report potholes and track government responses to complaints.

December 2011: Call to unite against Putin

Upon his release on 20 December 2011, Alexei Navalny called on Russians to unite against Putin, who Navalny said would try to claim victory in the presidential election.

2011: Describing United Russia as a "party of crooks and thieves"

In 2011, Alexei Navalny described Russia's ruling party, United Russia, as a "party of crooks and thieves" in an interview, a byname that gained popularity.

2011: Foundation of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK)

In 2011, Alexei Navalny founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), marking a significant step in his anti-corruption efforts.

2011: Navalny named FP Top 100 Global Thinker

In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine named Navalny one of the FP Top 100 Global Thinkers for shaping government transparency.

March 2012: Upcoming presidential election

In December 2011, Alexei Navalny spoke about the presidential elections to be held on 4 March 2012.

March 2012: Anti-Putin rally in Moscow

In March 2012, after Putin was elected president, Alexei Navalny helped lead an anti-Putin rally in Moscow's Pushkinskaya Square and was detained by authorities for several hours after the rally, and then released.

May 2012: Arrest after anti-Putin rally

On 8 May 2012, Alexei Navalny was arrested with Udaltsov after an anti-Putin rally at Clean Ponds, and given a 15-day jail sentence, leading Amnesty International to designate them prisoners of conscience.

June 2012: Announcement of new political party based on e-democracy

On 26 June 2012, it was announced that Alexei Navalny's comrades would establish a new political party based on e-democracy; Navalny declared he did not plan to participate in this project at the moment.

December 2012: Expressed support for The People's Alliance

On 15 December 2012 Alexei Navalny expressed his support of the party, saying, "The People's Alliance is my party", but again refused to join it, citing the criminal cases against him.

April 2013: Party files for registration; registration suspended

In April 2013, Navalny's party filed documents for official registration on April 10th, but on April 30th, the registration was suspended.

July 2013: Party registration declined

In July 2013, specifically on July 5th, Navalny's party was declined registration due to issues with founder attendance at the congress. Navalny responded with a tweet.

September 2013: Navalny to Join Party

Following the mayoral election, on September 15, 2013, Alexei Navalny declared that he would join and possibly head the party.

October 2013: Reactions to Navalny's Mayoral Election Result

In October 2013, following Navalny's second-place finish in the Moscow mayoral election, Nezavisimaya Gazeta noted the campaign transformed him from a blogger into a politician. A Levada Center poll in October 2013 indicated Navalny was seen as a potential presidential candidate by 5% of Russians.

November 2013: Deprived of advocate status

In November 2013, after the judgement in the Kirovles case had entered into force, Alexei Navalny was deprived of advocate status.

November 2013: Navalny elected as party leader

In November 2013, specifically on November 17th, Alexei Navalny was elected as the leader of the party.

2013: Suspended sentence for embezzlement and Moscow mayoral election

In 2013, Alexei Navalny received a suspended sentence for embezzlement and ran in the Moscow mayoral election, finishing second with 27.2% of the vote.

January 2014: Party files for registration again; registration suspended

In January 2014, on January 8th, Navalny's party filed registration documents for a second time, but the registration was suspended on January 20th due to name similarity issues.

February 2014: Party renamed "Progress Party" and registered

In February 2014, specifically on February 8th, Navalny's party changed its name to "Progress Party". On February 25th, the party was registered, requiring it to register regional branches within six months.

September 2014: Party claims to have registered regional branches

In September 2014, specifically on September 26th, Navalny's party declared it had registered 43 regional branches, though an unnamed source disputed the validity of registrations completed after the six-month term. Navalny's blog countered this claim.

November 2014: RPR-PARNAS co-chairmen propose wide coalition

On November 14, 2014, Boris Nemtsov and Mikhail Kasyanov, the two remaining RPR-PARNAS co-chairmen, proposed creating a wide coalition of political forces favoring the "European choice," with Navalny's Progress Party as a potential participant.

February 2015: Nemtsov's assassination accelerates coalition work

In February 2015, following Boris Nemtsov's assassination on February 27th, work on a coalition involving Navalny and Khodorkovsky as co-chairmen of RPR-PARNAS was accelerated.

February 2015: Party convention held

On February 1, 2015, Navalny's party held a convention, where Navalny stated the party was preparing for the 2016 elections and would maintain activity across Russia.

April 2015: Party initiates coalition; deprived of registration

In April 2015, on April 17th, Navalny's party initiated a coalition of democratic parties. However, on April 28th, the party was deprived of registration by the Ministry of Justice for not registering enough regional branches.

July 2015: Kasyanov elected leader of PARNAS; discusses Navalny's potential involvement

In July 2015, on July 5th, Kasyanov was elected as the sole leader of RPR-PARNAS, which was renamed to PARNAS. On July 7th, he discussed the possibility of Navalny joining the party in the future.

September 2016: State Duma elections scheduled

The State Duma elections were scheduled for September 2016.

December 2016: Navalny announces presidential bid

In December 2016, specifically on December 13th, Alexei Navalny announced his entry into the presidential race.

2016: Preparing for 2016 elections

Navalny stated on February 1 2015 that the party was preparing for the 2016 elections.

February 2017: Navalny re-sentenced in Kirovles case; presidential campaign proceeds

On February 8, 2017, the Leninsky district court of Kirov repeated its 2013 sentence in the Kirovles case. Navalny announced his presidential campaign would proceed independently of court decisions.

March 2017: Publication of "He Is Not Dimon to You" and Anti-Corruption Rallies

In March 2017, Alexei Navalny published the investigation "He Is Not Dimon to You," accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of corruption. On March 26, Navalny organized anti-corruption rallies across Russia. On March 27, he was fined and jailed for organizing an illegal protest and resisting arrest.

2018: Most viable contender to Putin in the 2018 election

According to Freedom House and The Economist, Navalny was the most viable contender to Vladimir Putin in the 2018 election.

2018: Barred from running in the presidential election

In 2018, Alexei Navalny was barred from running in the presidential election.

2018: Russia's Central Electoral Commission barred Navalny from running for president in 2018

In December 2017, Russia's Central Electoral Commission barred Navalny from running for president in 2018 due to his corruption conviction.

January 2021: Publication of Investigation into Putin's Estate

On January 19, 2021, two days after his detention, Alexei Navalny and the FBK published an investigation accusing President Vladimir Putin of using fraudulently obtained funds to build a massive estate near Gelendzhik, alleging it cost over 100 billion rubles ($1.35 billion) to construct.

October 2021: Navalny Receives Sakharov Prize

In October 2021, Alexei Navalny received the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament's annual human rights prize, recognizing his fight against corruption within Vladimir Putin's regime.

July 2022: Navalny Announces Relaunch of Anti-Corruption Foundation as International Organization

On July 11, 2022, Navalny announced the relaunch of his Anti-Corruption Foundation as an international organization. Navalny also stated that the first contribution to Anti-Corruption Foundation International would be the Sakharov Prize ($50,000) that was awarded to him.