The Russians and Putin know exactly how this looks, which is why they did it. Serve Putin, get rewarded. Here's the official statement from TASS.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the rank of Colonel General of the Internal Service to Deputy Director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Valery Boyarinev.

The decree on the increase was signed on February 19, three days after the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in prison.

Fellow oppositionist Ivan Zhdanov called Boyarinev’s promotion “Putin’s outright reward for torture.” “Boyarinev personally supervised the torture of Alexei Navalny in prison. The restriction of Alexey’s bills for the purchase of food, like all other tortures, was Boyarinev’s personal order from the Federal Penitentiary Service,” Zhdanov wrote .