Tributes are being paid across Europe and the United States to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the latest critic of Vladimir Putin to die under mysterious circumstances.

Navalny, who died on Friday after falling unconscious in an Arctic penal colony, was considered one of the Russian president’s most dangerous enemies – a thorn in Putin’s side who refused to capitulate to him. But as Western politicians pay their respects, some of the more unpleasant aspects of Navalny’s career are resurfacing.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was criticised by Mish Rahman, a member of the party’s NEC leadership panel, for praising Navalny’s “courage” while referring to the opposition leader’s “far-right” past.

“Navalny took part in the Russian March, an annual demonstration that attracts ultranationalists, including some who use swastika-like symbols,” Rahman tweeted. “He has never apologized for his early xenophobic videos or his decision to participate in the Russian March.”

“Putin is a vicious tyrant and no one should be imprisoned for political opposition, let alone die in this way. But that does not mean the leader of the Labour Party should praise a man with links to the far right who calls Muslims ‘cockroaches.'”

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Rahman was apparently referring to an infamous 2007 video in which Navalny compares Muslim immigrants in Russia to “cockroaches” while advocating for gun ownership.

In another video, he is dressed as a dentist and appears to compare migrants in Moscow to tooth decay, Radio Free Europe reports. He says: “I recommend complete disinfection. Everything that stands in our way should be carefully but firmly removed through deportation.”

Shortly before the release of the two clips, which can still be found on his YouTube channel, Navalny was expelled from the liberal Yabloko party for his “nationalist activities”. He had taken part in the Russian March, an annual rally of ultra-nationalist far-right groups that chanted slogans such as “Russia for ethnic Russians”.

“Anyone who expected Navalny to be an ideal Western liberal democrat is wrong,” Jade McGlynn, a researcher of Russian politics, told Euronews.

After leaving Yabloko, Navalny co-founded the National Russian Liberation Movement (NAROD), which promised to “fight against the ruling regime and kleptocracy,” but was also considered right-wing extremist and anti-immigration.

In August 2008, Navalny called Georgians “rodents” during the Russian attack on the country; he later apologized for these comments.

Have Navalny’s views changed over time?

Navalny has never apologized for the controversial videos from 2007.

Leonid Volkov, the head of Navalny’s network of regional political offices in Russia, told the New Yorker in 2021 that he regretted the videos but decided not to delete them “because it is a historical fact.”

He told the magazine that Navalny has always viewed the Russian march as a legitimate form of political expression among Russians who want a free and democratic society. He added: “He believes that if you don’t talk to the people who participate in these marches, they will all become skinheads. But if you talk to them, you might be able to convince them that their real enemy is Putin.”

Since the mid-2000s, Navalny appears to have softened his stance on immigration. He advocates a visa program for Central Asian migrants and the protection of their rights as workers. He also holds left-leaning economic positions and supports gay marriage.

According to Radio Free Europe, Navalny has said in interviews that his ability to work with both nationalists and liberals is one of his strengths as a politician. However, some remained skeptical about whether he has truly left his right-wing populist life behind, particularly given his refusal to apologize for many of his past statements.

Dispute at Amnesty International

In 2021, Amnesty International apologized to Navalny for stripping him of his status as a “prisoner of conscience.”

The human rights group said in February of that year that it would no longer use the term after concluding that his comments in the 2000s constituted “hate speech.”

Julie Verhaar, Amnesty International’s acting secretary general, said at the time that speculation about the use of the term “prisoner of conscience” would “divert attention from our core demand, which is the immediate release of Alexei Navalny.”

“This diversion only serves the Russian authorities, who have imprisoned Navalny for politically motivated reasons, simply because he dared to criticize them,” she added. “The term ‘prisoner of conscience’ is a specific description based on a set of internal criteria established by Amnesty. There should be no confusion: nothing Navalny has said in the past justifies his current imprisonment, which is purely politically motivated.”

In May 2021, Amnesty International then stated that it had decided to restore Navalny’s status “after careful consideration,” arguing that the Russian government had used its earlier decision to further violate Navalny’s rights.

It said it apologized for the “negative impact this has had on Alexei Navalny personally and on the activists in Russia and around the world who are fighting tirelessly for his freedom.”

But the story didn’t end there: a Muslim former Amnesty employee, who claims she was fired for challenging the U-turn, sued the organization. In July 2023, Aisha Jung said she was appealing after all her claims were dismissed by the Central London Employment Tribunal.