German vice chancellor, foreign minister pay tribute to Navalny

Germany's vice chancellor and foreign minister were among those paying tribute to Alexei Navalny, who was seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic, upon the announcement of his death in prison on Friday at the age of 47.

"Navalny's death shakes me to the core," Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said. "The Putin regime has him on its conscience."

Habeck said that Navalny's commitment to a better Russia had cost him his life.

"He was a patriot who stood up for democracy and the rule of law and loved his country and the people there - more than his own life."

"Like no other, Alexei Navalny was a symbol of a free and democratic Russia. That's exactly why he had to die. My thoughts are with his wife and children," Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter.