CNN to re-air Oscar-winning ‘Navalny’ documentary after Putin rival’s death

CNN announced a special encore showing of its Oscar-winning film “Navalny,” following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny Friday.

The film, which chronicles the life of Navalny — a political rival of Russian President Vladimir Putin — will air Saturday at 9 p.m. EST.

The encore showing comes after the Russian Federal Prison Service said Friday that Navalny, 47, lost consciousness while taking a walk and medical crew were unable to rehabilitate him.

The Putin critic was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, and was recently moved to a “special regime” penal colony in Kharp, a town over 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow, known for severe winter weather.

The documentary, which was released in January 2023, details the alleged assassination attempt on Navalny in the fall of 2020, when he was poisoned and had to be flown to Germany for treatment. It also looks at an alleged connection the Kremlin had in the attack and the imprisonment of the opposition leader.

At the end of the film, Navalny delivers a chilling message: “I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up.”

Navalny is the latest Putin foe to be found dead, which has prompted an international outcry, as critics of the Russian president shift blame his way — including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Reports of his death, if they’re true, and I have no reasons to believe they’re not — Russian authorities are going to tell their own story,” Biden said Friday in remarks from the White House. “But make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death.

“What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled,” he added.