Russia has lost another part of its soul. Alexei Navalny, the leading figure of resistance against Vladimir Putin within Russia, has been proclaimed dead by the Russian state prison service, after allegedly falling unconscious after a walk.
The finger has been unequivocally pointed at Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death. It’s not known if his death was explicitly ordered by the Kremlin, or whether he simply succumbed to the inhumane and brutal conditions of his imprisonment. Regardless, he was murdered by the Russian State, and by the entity which controls it. There is no one blame can lie with except Putin.
If the despicability and moral bankruptcy of Putin’s regime hadn’t been demonstrated thus far, it most certainly has now. Navalny had his flaws; he started his career in frontline Russian politics as a staunch nationalist and was known to advocate for some less-than-liberal policies, but whatever his shortcomings may have been, they were utterly overshadowed by his towering and unwavering resolve for a truly free and democratic Russia, and the complete absence of any selfishness or fear whilst facing down the murderous, stinking, corrupt Russian State. Navalny is a hero of modern Russia, and it is right that he is remembered as such.
After the attempt on his life in 2020 which left him in a coma, he could have lived out the rest of his days in some European nation, free from political persecution and free to snipe at the Putin regime from the side lines, just like countless other Russian dissidents living in exile. But that wasn’t Navalny. He belonged in Russia, taking the fight to Putin, remaining the biggest thorn in the monster’s side. When he boarded the plane back to Russia, he knew it could well mean his death. His supporters and political commentators were not being cynical when they predicted he would likely die in prison, but it was not expected to happen this quickly.
Navalny was allegedly subject to regular beatings by guards for minor transgressions, or for no reason at all, and spent most of his time in solitary confinement during his sentence at a remote Siberian prison camp. Staff must have been under orders to treat him harshly, orders which could only have come from one place. That Putin was so deathly afraid of Navalny, so much so that he was the one enemy Putin would not mention by name, was in itself a major achievement for the now-martyred rebel.
For that is what Putin has created by murdering Navalny; a martyr. Across Russian cities, flowers and images of Navalny have been laid at memorials of the victims of Soviet political repression, Navalny being the latest in a long line of Russians murdered for thinking and saying the wrong thing. Gatherings around the monuments to remember Navalny quickly turned into anti-government protests, resulting in hundreds of protestors being arrested.
Even in death, Navalny is fomenting dissent against the evil Russian government, and long may it continue. His bravery will be emulated by Russians for years to come as they break draconian anti-protest laws to voice their disgust at what Putin has turned their nation into.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, spoke just hours after the news broke, vowing to continue her late husband’s fight for a free Russia, and committing to delivering justice to his killers. She has urged the EU to recognise Putin’s government and the upcoming Russian election as illegitimate as, in her words, “a president who assassinated his main political opponent cannot be legitimate by definition”.
The international reaction has also been largely one of outrage, with leaders across the world, within the west and without, calling for an impartial and thorough investigation into Navalny’s death. However, as was demonstrated when Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death was ‘investigated’, impartiality is in very short supply in Russia.
His death has spurred Russia’s opponents into action; Denmark has recently donated all, yes, all, of its artillery shells to Ukraine, and a bumper aid package currently making its way through the US Congress has seen a reduction in the amount of Republican opposition after the news broke. Putin, with each act of blatant corruption and immorality, continues to dig his hole deeper and deeper. He has no friends on the world stage other than North Korea, Iran, Belarus, Eritrea and the like, and they are not friends that can be counted on indefinitely.
When I saw the news, like most others I was saddened deeply; Navalny was a great man, a true believer in liberal and democratic values, values he has now given his life for. But I was not surprised. I had hoped, somewhere in my most optimistic imaginings, that he would one day emerge from prison and taken the fight back to Putin, but it was not to be. I think he knew what his fate would be when he got on that plane back to Russia, and such courage and selflessness can only be lauded.
When Russia is free, and it will one day be free, they should erect his likeness in bronze in the centre of Red Square. The end is not yet in sight for Putin’s evil, and I don’t expect it will be for years to come, but it will come. Commentators have started to take the view that Putin has rigged the system so comfortably in his favour, has supressed all official dissent so brutally, that the only way out of this dictatorship is through alternative means. Russia is no stranger to revolution. Its history is defined by it. That’s what it will take now to remove Putin from office; a popular insurrection. It can’t come soon enough.
Rest in Power, Alexei. You will live forever.
stay safe
/e