Paris - AFP was on the plane on January 17 when Alexei Navalny returned to Russia despite the near certainty of imprisonment. In the third episode of AFP's five-part podcast series, we ask who is this seemingly fearless man?

Friends, experts and his critics try to answer the question, with some pointing to a ‘‘nationalist’, even ‘racist’ past. But more than anything, Navalny has become a thorn in the side of a Russian elite whose alleged corruption he has worked to expose.

Episode 3: “Hi, it’s Navalny”