Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny due to fly back to Russia despite arrest threat

MOSCOW: Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny is due to fly back to Russia on Sunday for the first time since he was poisoned last summer, despite the authorities' stated desire to arrest him and potentially jail him for years.

His return poses a conundrum for the Kremlin: jail him and risk protests and punitive Western action by turning him into a political martyr. Or do nothing and risk looking weak in the eyes of Kremlin hardliners.Navalny, 44, is expected to fly from Berlin, where he was flown in August for emergency medical treatment after being poisoned with what German tests showed was a Novichok nerve agent, and to arrive in Moscow on Sunday at 1620 GMT .

Navalny says the Kremlin is afraid of him. The Kremlin, which only refers to him as the"Berlin patient," laughs that off. Putin allies point to opinion polls that show the Russian leader is far more popular than Navalny, whom they call a blogger rather than a politician.Navalny has said he will take a flight operated by Russian airline Pobeda, owned by state-controlled Aeroflot.

So far, at least 2,000 people have used a Facebook page to say they plan to be there, with another 6,000 expressing an interest. Pro-Kremlin activists are also expected to turn up.

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