We at the Daily Planet join U.S. and European leaders in decrying the death of Russian activist Alexei Navalny, “with many placing responsibility squarely on the Kremlin for the passing of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic political opponent,” as noted by The (Cape Town, South Africa) Daily Maverick on Feb. 16.

“Navalny lost consciousness after feeling unwell on returning from a walk and medical services were unable to revive him, the prison authority said in a statement Friday (Feb. 16),” the DM reported. “Authorities were attempting to establish the cause of death, according to the statement.

“Navalny, 47, was declared dead as official campaigning for the March 17 presidential election, in which Putin is likely to secure a fifth term, was set to start... Putin has been ‘informed’ about Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday (Feb. 16).”

Interestingly, U2’s Bono on Feb. 19 led a Las Vegas concert crowd in an “Alexei Navalny” chant, with Bono reportedly setting his sights on Putin, charging that he will steamroll Ukraine and then move on to a NATO country like Poland, which could potentially launch World War III.

“Next week it’ll be two years since Putin invaded and tried to destroy the hard-won freedoms [of Ukraine],” Bono was widely quoted as saying. “Next it’ll be Poland, next it’ll be Lithuania, East Germany; who knows where this man will or won’t go...

“To these people freedom is not just a word in a song. For these people freedom is the most important word in the world — so important that Ukrainians are fighting and dying for it,” he added. “And it’s so important that Alexei Navalny chose to give his up.”

Bono added that since Putin would never say Navalny’s name, he asked the crowd to say it with him. “Apparently Putin would never, ever say his name. So I thought tonight, the people who believe in freedom must say his name. Not just remember it, but say it,” Bono said of Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner and opposition party leader who spent years in prison.

We think it is time for the Russian people to vindicate the heroic Navalny’s tragic death by removing from office Putin, a brutal dictator, and replacing him (and his henchmen) with a federal constitutional republic.