He added that Navalny had been a strong voice for freedom and for democracy for many years: “NATO and NATO allies have called for his immediate release for a long time. Today, my thoughts go to his family and his loved ones. Russia has become more and more an authoritarian power.”

The news prompted dismay among other leading politicians in the region who oppose Russian imperialism.

“The indecisiveness of the democratic world is seen as weakness by dictators, and they like testing how far they can go without a response,” Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader, told POLITICO.

She also tweeted: “I urge the global community to act now to protect my husband & other political prisoners, who are in great danger.” Her husband Sergei  has been a prisoner of Belarusian dictator and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko since 2020.

In Berlin, Scholz called the news “a terrible thing,” adding: “It is also a sign of how Russia has changed, after the hopeful developments toward democracy that have unfortunately already taken place.”

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used similar words, describing Navalny’s death as “terrible news.” He added: “As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life.”