Navalny’s Budapest memorial torn down amid emerging new details of his death

Foreign laboratory tests on biological samples believed to be from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison, have revealed how he may have been killed, according to a statement made public on Wednesday by his exiled widow, Yulia Navalnaya. Meanwhile, unknown individuals have repeatedly destroyed a memorial in Budapest dedicated to the late politician—an act the Russian embassy suspects is part of a coordinated left-liberal attack.

Navalny’s Budapest memorial ‘bulldozed’ multiple times in recent days

According to media reports, civilians created the Navalny memorial in Terézváros, in a symbolic location directly opposite the Russian embassy, and have maintained it ever since. The installation resembles the monument commemorating victims of the Nazi occupation and incorporates a railing from the M1 metro stairway. Photographs were pinned to it, and citizens placed flowers around it. Local councillor János Oláh (Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party – MKKP) said that residents had maintained the site for the past year and a half.

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Yesterday, however, unidentified individuals bulldozed the memorial. Oláh managed to partially restore it, only for it to be torn down again. “At first I thought this was a one-off act of vandalism. Now I believe it’s the work of a methodical perpetrator,” wrote Oláh on Facebook. He has since rebuilt the site again and announced that a civilian commemoration for the former Russian opposition leader will be held there on the 24th.

Yesterday, however, unidentified individuals bulldozed the memorial. Oláh managed to partially restore it, only for it to be torn down again.

“At first I thought this was a one-off act of vandalism. Now I believe it is the work of a methodical perpetrator,” Oláh wrote on Facebook.

He has since rebuilt the site once more and announced that a civilian commemoration for the former Russian opposition leader will be held there on the 24th.

Permanent memorial planned

“Aleksei Navalny stood for freedom, truth and integrity—values that are just as important to us here in Terézváros and Budapest. His conviction and courage are a model for all of us who believe that speaking truth to power matters, even under the most terrifying conditions,” wrote Terézváros mayor Tamás Soproni of the Momentum party. He added that, in collaboration with the capital, they intend to propose the erection of a permanent memorial. This detail triggered a reaction from the Russian embassy.

Russian embassy sees ‘coordinated anti-Russian offensive’

The Russian embassy also shared its response on Facebook. It claimed the memorial was illegal from the start and denied there was any public demand for it. In its view, the entire installation is nothing more than an anti-Russian provocation, and the gathering planned for the 24th will merely be an anti-Russian protest. According to the embassy, the push for a permanent memorial is a coordinated left-liberal campaign aimed at injecting the issue into Hungary’s 2026 election race—something it firmly opposes.

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What happened to Navalny?

Navalny died suddenly at the age of 47 on 16 February 2024 at an Arctic penal colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, where he was serving a 19-year sentence. His widow blamed the Russian leadership for his death.

The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement by the Russian state or President Vladimir Putin in the opposition politician’s death. Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) stated only that Navalny fell ill and lost consciousness after a walk, and later died. Posting on X and YouTube, Navalnaya revealed that in 2024 biological samples taken from her late husband had been secretly smuggled abroad and examined by two independent laboratories.

Putin critic may have been poisoned

“Laboratories in two different countries conducted tests. Independently of one another, they concluded that Alexei had been poisoned. These findings are in the public interest and must be made public. Everyone deserves to know the truth,” Navalnaya stressed.

• Read more under our Russia section or the latest Hungary news.

She called on the laboratories to publish their conclusions, though she did not disclose which institutions had carried out the tests, nor the type of poison found.

Navalny’s widow holds Putin personally responsible

“I claim that Vladimir Putin is responsible for the murder of my husband, Alexei Navalny. I accuse the Russian intelligence services of developing banned chemical and biological weapons. I demand that the laboratories which conducted these investigations make their findings public. Stop shielding Putin out of some higher strategic calculation. He cannot be appeased. As long as you remain silent, he will not stop,” Navalnaya warned.

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