Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has issued his first public statement in weeks after he was discovered at a prison colony above the Arctic Circle.
Mr Navalny, the most prominent rival of President Vladimir Putin, had been uncontactable for three weeks.
He is serving a 19-year sentence for charges including extremism, which he says were brought for political reasons.
His spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said Mr Navalny, 47, was eventually found in the town of Kharp, in the northern Yamalo-Nenets region on Christmas Day.
In a statement released on Tuesday, anti-corruption activist Mr Navalny referred to himself humorously as the new Santa Claus and expressed surprise at being found.He wrote: “The 20 days of my transportation were pretty exhausting, but I’m still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus.
1/9 I am your new Santa Claus.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) December 26, 2023
Well, I now have a sheepskin coat, an ushanka hat (a fur hat with ear-covering flaps), and soon I will get valenki (a traditional Russian winter footwear). I have grown a beard for the 20 days of my transportation.
“They brought me here on Saturday night. And I was transported with such precaution and on such a strange route (Vladimir - Moscow - Chelyabinsk - Ekaterinburg - Kirov - Vorkuta - Kharp) that I didn’t expect anyone to find me here before mid-January.
“That’s why I was very surprised when the cell door was opened yesterday with the words: ‘A lawyer is here to see you.’ He told me that you had lost me, and some of you were even worried. Thanks very much for your support!”
The district of Kharp, home to about 5,000 people, is located above the Arctic Circle. It is "one of the most northern and remote colonies", said Ivan Zhdanov, who manages Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.
Conditions there are harsh, with a special regime in the permafrost zone and very little contact with the outside world, Mr Zhdanov added.
The US State Department welcomed reports Mr Nalvalny had been located but said it was "deeply concerned" about his wellbeing and called for his immediate release. "We have conveyed to the Russiangovernment that they are responsible for what happens to Mr Navalny in their custody", a spokesman said.
Mr Navalny was first jailed after surviving an attempt to assassinate him by poisoning. A court extended his sentence to 19 years on extremism charges, and ruled that he be moved to a more secure, harsher prison.
