The Russian track cyclist Mikhail Yakovlev, who immigrated to Israel, commented on the death of Alexei Navalnyj with an emotional message: “I didn’t know Alexei Navalnyj personally, but when I found out about his death from my father, I cried,” Yakovlev wrote on his Instagram -Profile: “I have the feeling that someone close to me has died. I feel like a part of me has been killed and I feel this emptiness.”
Upon request on Sunday, Yakovlev confirmed the authenticity of his post to the FAZ. In the post, the 23-year-old described the opposition leader, who died in Russian custody last week, as an inspiration for him as a professional cyclist and beyond: “If I need motivation for training or simply “I needed in life, I remembered him, his words, his manifestations, his strength,” Yakovlev wrote: “The kind of strength I had never seen in anyone else.”
