Navalny Resurfaces in Isolated Russian Prison, Jokes He's the New Santa After Vanishing for Weeks
• Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny went missing for nearly 3 weeks before being located in a remote Russian prison colony above the Arctic Circle on Christmas Day • Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges in the prison located about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow known for its isolation and severe winters • Navalny issued his first statement since disappearing, joking he was the "new Santa Claus" and that he expected to be missing until mid-January • Navalny disappeared shortly after Putin announced plans to run for a fifth presidential term; Navalny had called on Russians to vote against Putin's war in Ukraine • The timing of Navalny's disappearance, along with detention extensions for his lawyers and another opposition figure, raised suspicions of political motivations