Opinion: Putin's nemesis has a spirit that can outlast any strongman

Editor's Note: The 2022 CNN film "Navalny" won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Feature. And it is streaming on Max, which is owned by CNN's parent company.

(This article was published in March, 2023.)

Russia's most famous dissident and critic of Vladimir Putin, Alexey Navalny, remains locked in solitary confinement at the maximum-security IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, in ailing health, and according to those closest to him, subjected to torture intended to break his spirit.

Despite Navalny's suffering, Odessa Rae, one of the producers of Oscar-nominated documentary and CNN Film "Navalny," has no doubt that the opposition politician is still finding ways to delight in his own dark - and disarming - sense of humor.

"I'm sure it's his humor that is keeping his spirit alive," she told CNN Opinion. "He has a particular penchant for dark humor, so he's probably finding lots of great content in prison."

Rae should know. In late 2020, she spent months filming with Navalny and his family in Germany's Black Forest while he recovered from a near lethal dose of the deadly nerve agent Novichok delivered by an elite Russian intelligence unit (which the Kremlin denies).

Now, as fears for Navalny's health grow, and a growing chorus of Russian lawyers and medical professionals call for an end to his "blatant torture" in prison, Rae answered questions from CNN Opinion's Sheena McKenzie and Jane Carr, revealing new details about Navalny's confinement - and reflected on his enduring source of strength.