Navalny activist flees Russia as top aides report threatening letters

FILE PHOTO: Opposition activist Violetta Grudina poses for a photo in Murmansk, Russia May 26, 2021. Picture taken May 26, 2021. Courtesy of Violetta Grudina/Handout via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) -An activist ally of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny told Reuters on Thursday she had fled Russia to avoid jail, while two of his top aides said they had received letters with threats to themselves and their families.

Violetta Grudina, 32, who was barred from standing for election last year in the Arctic port city of Murmansk, said she fled with her 11-year-old son and her dog in December. She declined to reveal her location and said only she was in Europe.