After being sentenced to a five year prison term yesterday on trumped up charges of embezzlement, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was released on bail today. Even though his next hearing is in just six weeks, when he could be taken directly into custody to serve his sentence, this move by the presiding judge to release him for now seems quite the turnaround and quite contrary to Putin’s record of how the Kremlin treats dissidents.
This unexpected turn of events leaves us with many questions, but Max Smith at The Post helps us find some of the answers in a good op-ed.