FILE – In this Friday, Aug. 21, 2020 file photo, Oleg Navalny, Alexei Navalny’s brother speaks to the media at the Omsk Ambulance Hospital No. 1, intensive care unit where Alexei Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk, Russia. A prison sentence for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a sweeping crackdown on protesters demanding his release reflect the Kremlin’s steely determination to fend off threats to its political monopoly at any cost. Last week, a Moscow court put Navalny’s brother, Oleg, his top associate Lyubov Sobol and several other key allies under house arrest for two months as part of a criminal probe into alleged violations of coronavirus regulations during protests.
