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Navalny aide: âThere is a deep bleeding hole in my heartâ
Alexey Navalnyâs former Chief of Staff Leonid Volkov says, âitâs hard for me to get used to this new world where Alexey isnât here anymore.â
One of Alexey Navalnyâs most senior aides has spoken to the ±«Óătv about his disbelief that his friend and colleague is no longer alive.
Leonid Volkov had worked with Russian opposition leader Mr Navalny for more than a decade as both a campaign manager and Chief of Staff.
Mr Navalny was found dead on February 16th at the Arctic "Polar Wolf" prison camp - one of Russia's toughest prisons. Several world leaders have directly blamed President Vladimir Putin for his death.
Speaking to HARDtalkâs Stephen Sackur, Leonid Volkov said, âI still canât believe it frankly. There is a deep bleeding hole in my heart.â
âAlexey was not only a political leader, he was also a very close friend⊠Itâs hard for me to get used to this new world where Alexey isnât here anymore.â
Asked whether he had a feeling of despair since the death of Alexey Navalny, Mr Volkov said, âNo, thatâs not correct. Alexey was a very inspirational leader and his main slogan was ânever give upâ.â
âAnd if there is one thing that we have learned from him in the many years that we worked together⊠it was this thing: never give up.â
âTo be in despair would make his sacrifice in vain, would be a betrayal of his legacy,â Mr Volkov said.