In a powerful and emotional interview with The Moscow Times, Olga Mikhailova, longtime lawyer of the late Alexei Navalny, reflects on her regrets and the devastating aftermath of his decision to return to Russia in 2021. Mikhailova, now living in exile in France, laments not having persuaded Navalny to stay abroad, a choice she believes triggered a tragic chain of events—his arrest, imprisonment, and eventual death in an Arctic penal colony, which his allies call Kremlin-sanctioned murder. She also denounces the persecution of Navalny’s legal team, with three of his former lawyers recently sentenced to prison on extremism charges. Highlighting the collapse of attorney-client privilege and rule of law in Russia, Mikhailova criticizes the West’s decision to remove Russia from the Council of Europe, arguing it removed a vital legal safeguard. Despite personal losses and exile, she remains proud of defending Navalny, whom she describes as a courageous and transformative leader.