U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) wants to name a portion of the street near the Washington, D.C., residence of the Russian Ambassador to the United States after Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died on Feb. 16.
Sen. Cassidy and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) jointly plan soon to introduce their bipartisan bill, which would rename a section of the street at 1125 16th Street, N.W., in D.C., as Alexei Navalny Way.
“The world is shaken at the news of Alexei Navalny’s death,” Sen. Cassidy said. “Renaming the street in front of the Russian Embassy Navalny Way memorializes his fight for freedom and democracy. When Russians visit our nation’s capital, they will remember his unflinching opposition to Putin’s dictatorial control.”
Navalny, also a lawyer, anti-corruption activist, and political prisoner, led the political opposition against Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than a decade, despite efforts by Putin to silence him by poison and later by imprisonment in remote Russia, from where Navalny continued to advocate for a free Russia.
Navalny died at the Arctic Circle prison where he was serving a 30-year sentence, according to Russian authorities.
“There’s more blood on Putin’s hands today with the tragic death of Alexei Navalny in prison, all for the ‘crime’ of wanting a free Russia,” said Sen. Durbin. “Alexei’s memory and his efforts for a free Russia will never be forgotten.”