Alexei Navalny, the main leader of Russia’s so-called “non-systemic” political opposition, may again become a convicted felon. If that happens, he'd lose the chance to compete in next year’s presidential race, when Vladimir Putin will likely seek a fourth term in office. This week, as Navalny endures a retrial of his 2013 embezzlement case in Kirov, his fate and the future of the opposition hang in the balance. And the wait for a verdict might not be long: the case has raced along at a breakneck speed. Here’s what you need to know about the case. Who is Alexei Navalny? An anti-corruption crusader and campaigner, Navalny became one of the most prominent leaders of Russia’s anti-Kremlin political opposition during the winter protests in 2011 and 2012. In the years since, he has continued to be one of the country’s most visible critics of Vladimir Putin. In 2013, Navalny ran in the Moscow mayoral election, nearly forcing a runoff vote against key Kremlin ally and acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin. The Kremlin expected the mayoral race to be an easy, validating ride for the incumbent, but the election ended up as a fierce showdown between Navalny, a charismatic young man, and Sobyanin, a dull career bureaucrat. Despite Navalny’s ultimate defeat, his campaign remains of the Russian opposition’s greatest success stories in the Putin era. The campaign was overshadowed by the so-called “Kirovles case,” however, which happened simultaneously. In Kirov, a town 800 kilometers northeast of Moscow, Navalny was being tried for embezzling money from a local state-owned company. On July 18, 2013, still roughly six weeks before the vote in Moscow, Navalny was convicted and sentenced to five years in jail. As the judge announced the punishment, bailiffs grabbed Navalny and his co-defendant, Pyotr Ofitserov, and led them straight to jail. Later that day, back in Moscow, large crowds of Navalny supporters gathered in the center of the city, furious about the court’s decision. But the next morning, in an unprecedented ruling, the court overturned its own decision. Navalny was suddenly freed and released on bail, enabling him to take part in the mayoral race. According to some rumors, Vladimir Putin had intervened directly with a phone call. Later that year, after the election, a Kirov court convicted Navalny and Ofitserov of fraud and sentenced them both to probation. This time, they weren’t thrown in jail, but Navalny lost his right to run for elected office, now a convicted felon. Then, three years later, the Russian Supreme Court overturned the ruling and sent the case back to Kirov’s courts for a retrial. In late December 2016, Navalny took advantage of his new status as citizen without any felony convictions, and announced his intention to run for president in 2018.

Supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attend a rally in Moscow, July 2013. TASS

What is the Kirovles case? The case goes back to 2009 when Navalny served as an adviser to Kirov’s governor. Pyotr Ofitserov was a businessman and founder of a private intermediary company involved in buying and selling timber. They were both accused of organizing the theft of 10,000 cubic meters of timber from the state Kirovles company through Ofitserov’s firm. The accusation was that Kirovles was forced to sell its wood “cheaper than the market price” by Navalny — thus turning a normal business procedure into embezzlement. Navalny and Ofitserov insisted that the prices for buying Kirovles timber were in accordance with market prices and the sale was a standard business operation, nothing more. Nonetheless, they were convicted in October 2013. Three years later, the European Court of Human Rights found that Ofitserov’s company was simply running a normal business. On these grounds, the court ruled that Navalny and Ofitserov should be acquitted. Following this verdict, the Russian Supreme Court overturned the Kirov court ruling. What’s happening right now? The new hearings in Kirov started this January. The second trial much resembles the first one — it uses the same evidence, the same witnesses and the same position of the prosecution. Only, this time, it seems a lot more rushed. On Feb 1., the Kirov court banned Navalny and Ofitserov from leaving the city. In what looked like an absurd turn of events, the judge named the city's Hilton Hotel as the pair's “temporary place of residence.” The judge informed the hotel to extend Navalny's stay there, as he had only booked a room for one night. Speaking in court, Navalny told the judge: “While you're at it, could you also tell them I waited 40 minutes for my breakfast this morning.”

Суд обязал меня жить в гостинице Хилтон до 10 февраля. Вопросы: а) кто будет платить? б) можно ли пользоваться мини-баром? — Alexey Navalny (@navalny) 1 февраля 2017 г.

The court obliged me to stay at the Hilton until Feb. 10. Questions: a) Who’s going to pay for it? b) Can I use the mini-bar?



Navalny's team has livestreamed the entire case on social media. At one point, the activist asked the judge if he could pose for a selfie with him. The latter refused, but Navalny nonetheless posted a selfie from the courtroom on his Instagram.

Лучшая фотография с сегодняшнего заседания в процессе "Кировлес-2". Атмосферная. A photo posted by navalny4 (@navalny4) on Feb 1, 2017 at 5:25am PST