At the beginning of their meeting, on 21 February 2024, the Ministers' Deputies held a minute of silence in tribute to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnyy, who died on 16 February at the Russian Artic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence.
On 16 February, the President of the Committee of Ministers issued a statement, expressing sympathy to Alexei Navalnyy's wife, family and friends and stating that responsibility for his death - whatever the circumstances - lay with the Russian authorities.
