The 2.5-hour flight of the Russian airline Pobeda took off from Berlin Brandenburg Airport and is expected to land in Moscow’s Vnukovo, which was heavily guarded by police on Sunday.
Navalny arrived in a coma in Germany five months ago after being poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent developed by Russia during the Soviet years. After an extraordinary recovery, Navalny appears poised to return to his role as the thorn in President Vladimir Putin’s side, seemingly undaunted by his close shave to death.
He thanked all the other passengers on the flight when he and his wife, Yulia Navalnya, boarded the plane in Berlin, according to a live feed from TV Rain.
“Thanks to all of you, I hope we get it right,” Navalny said. “And I’m sure everything will be absolutely wonderful.”
Several Western officials and Navalny himself have openly blamed the Russian state for the poisoning, which the Kremlin has denied.
Navalny had told his supporters on social media on Wednesday to “meet me” when he lands in Moscow. He said his decision to return home was spontaneous.
The Russian authorities responded quickly. On Thursday, the country’s prison authority (FSIN) said it was obligated to “take all measures to detain Navalny” before a court hearing he will attend.
Moscow authorities also warned those who planned to meet Navalny at the airport, saying the city considered this meeting an unapproved demonstration. In recent months, Russia has passed several laws to suppress protests and authorities have arrested peaceful protesters.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Navalny wrote a message to thank Germany, adding that Germans were “nice, likable, friendly people.”
“Doctors and nurses. Physiotherapists and police officers. Lots of cops. The neighbors who invited us to drink, and those who gave us permission to hire. Politicians and lawyers. Shopkeepers. Journalists. The prosecutors who questioned me on request from “Russia. Coaches. Teachers. And once even the Chancellor. I had quite a wide circle of friends here. And I can only say a huge thank you to everyone.”
Navalny, who has been detained many times by Russian authorities, was placed on the country’s federally wanted list during his stay in Germany at the request of the FSIN, which in December accused him of violating probation in a year-old fraud case that Navalany dismisses as politically motivated.
Now the FSIN alleges that Navalny violated the terms of his suspended sentence by not showing up for scheduled inspections.
The FSIN has asked the court to replace his suspended sentence with a real prison sentence. A hearing is scheduled for January 29, and if the request is granted, Navalny will likely face a 3.5-year sentence.
In 2014, Navalny was found guilty of fraud after he and his brother Oleg were charged with embezzling 30 million rubles ($ 540,000) from a Russian subsidiary of French cosmetics company Yves Rocher. While Navalny was given a suspended sentence, his brother was imprisoned.
Angela Dewan and Claudia Otto from CNN contributed to this report.