In new statement from prison, Alexey Navalny says he doesn’t plan to take his own life

Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has released a new statement from Moscow’s Matrosskaya Tishina remand prison, where has been in custody since January 18.

In a post on Instagram, Navalny thanked his supporters for distributing the “Putin’s Palace” video and acknowledged the “schoolchildren who, according to my lawyer, are creating ‘mayhem on TikTok’.”

Among other things, he also emphasized that he has no intention of committing suicide.

I’ll say it, just in case. It’s not my plan to hang myself from the bars on the window, or to open my veins or throat with a sharpened spoon. I take the stairs very carefully. My blood pressure is measured every day — it’s like an astronaut’s and a sudden heart attack is out of the question. I don’t drink moonshine and I’m not gorging on [candies]. My psycho-emotional state is completely stable. I know that there are lots of good people outside my prison and help will come.

Navalny’s post included a blooper reel from the filming of the “Putin’s Palace” investigation.

• The day after Navalny was remanded in custody, his Anti-Corruption Foundation released an investigation about a “palace” near the Black Sea town of Gelendzhik that was supposedly built for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The construction project, which cost an estimated 100 billion rubles ($1.35 billion), was allegedly financed through a corruption scheme linked to state-controlled and private companies run by members of his inner circle. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied that Putin owns a “palace.”
• Protests demanding Navalny’s release from custody are set to take place in cities across Russia on Saturday, January 23.