The sudden “death” of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s primary opposition leader to dictator Vladimir Putin, should serve as a grim reminder to many Americans just how ruthless and evil a man Putin is.

Back in 2020, Navalny narrowly survived a poisoning attempt likely made with the Novichok nerve agent. It had all the earmarks of Putin’s FSB, the modern version of the Soviet-era KGB. Why was Navalny poisoned? It had everything to do with his growing popularity and his efforts to expose the corruption of Putin and his government.

Navalny made a name for himself in 2011 when he helped to foment protests in Russia over government corruption within Putin’s inner circle. In 2013, Putin felt the growing threat from Navalny, who, in a campaign for mayor of Moscow, garnered 27% of the vote in an election rigged against him. And it was on the eve of Russia’s 2020 national election that Navalny suddenly fell ill, having been poisoned as noted above. He survived thanks to medical treatment in Germany.

Yet despite Putin’s attempt on his life, Navalny boldly returned to Moscow in 2021, where he was arrested, charged with “extremism,” and given a 19-year prison sentence – in effect, exiled to a Siberian prison. He died a day after having appeared before a Russian judge via video link from the prison where he appeared jovial and in good health.

What likely bothered Putin the most was Navalny’s upbeat fearlessness. Now Navalny has become the latest and one of the most prominent among the growing list of Putin’s political enemies who have come to untimely ends. That list includes individuals like the former Russian spy and Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who, after defecting to the UK, died of poisoning in 2016 in London. There’s also Mikhail Lesin, a former Russian press director who, in 2015, suspiciously died at the age of 57 in a Washington, DC, hotel. Also in 2015, another Putin critic, Boris Nemtsov, was shot to death on a bridge near the Kremlin.

Navalny’s wife, Yulia, learned of his death while at a security conference in Germany. She responded by stating: “I do not know if I shall believe [this] devastating news, which we are receiving solely from the governmental offices in Russia. Because, for many years now, and you all know this, we cannot trust Putin. Putin’s government — they always lie.”

Soviet-born chess champion Garry Kasparov observed: “Putin tried and failed to murder Navalny quickly and secretly with poison, and now he has murdered him slowly and publicly in prison. He was killed for exposing Putin and his mafia as the crooks and thieves they are. My thoughts are with the brave man’s wife and children.”

Indeed, Navalny’s death should come as a surprise to no one. Back in April 2021, Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, warned, “We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community.” Two months later at the U.S.-Russia summit in Geneva, Biden blustered, “I made it clear to [Putin] that I believe the consequences of [Navalny’s death] would be devastating for Russia.”

And now, with Navalny’s untimely death, the Biden administration has been mum as to what, if any, “devastating” consequences Russia will be facing.

In light of the ongoing wrangling in Congress over sending billions more in aid and military support for Ukraine in its war to repel Russia’s invasion, too many folks seem to have taken to viewing Putin through rose-colored glasses in an effort to justify their opposition to spending the money. One can be opposed to sending billions more to Ukraine without diminishing or, even worse, lionizing a murderous dictator.