 On February 16, Russia announced that Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, had died in an arctic prison. Crusade. People around the world gathered to remember Navalny. He led a crusade against official corruption in Russia. President Joe Biden and Navalny's wife Yulia blamed his death on Russian President Vladimir Putin. A crusade is an especially intense campaign for social change. The historical crusades were Christian wars against non-Christians that took place from about 1100 to 1300.