No. of Recommendations: 3
I don't think Putin cares. Remember the polonium poisoning (Litvinenko)? And the father/daughter poisoning (Skripal)? I think he wants people to know, even as he denies involvement. No one can touch him, and he knows it.
Of course. Part of being a dictator is to wield power but also be ostentatious about it.
Because Navalny could've stood too close to a window at any time for the last decade or so or had a bad curry, we have to assume that Navalny's passing in a Russian punishment labor camp at this time was to send a message. To internal opponents the message is, "I don't care how many Western prizes you win, if you color outside the lines I will kill you." To the West, the message is, "F*** you and your democratic opposition. My house, my rules." And to the Russian "establishment" opposition that may be coalescing inside the oligarchy and security services, "I just whacked the darling of the West and told them to FOAD. Do you really think anyone will care if I kill you?"
