Kremlin leaders are interested in the trappings of wealth, but only in real political competition. After coming to power in 2000, he effortlessly pushed aside wealthy oligarchs, silenced independent media, and installed his cronies as the new elite. But in later years he faced a real rival in Mr. Navalny. Mr. Navalny called tens of thousands of people to the streets to protest against Mr. Putin and former KGB officials, calling them a “party of swindlers and thieves.” Mr. Navalny captured the hopes of many Russians for a normal, democratic country.
Mr. Putin undoubtedly hopes that Mr. Navalny’s death will not only eliminate an irrepressible, principled and courageous opponent, but also quell Mr. Navalny’s death. the desire he embodied Other things include living without fear from the state, choosing your leaders, saying and thinking what you believe, making free choices in the free market, and traveling the world. All these freedoms were denied to Navalny in the Soviet Union, where he was born. They were first unleashed tentatively during the era of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, and then fully unleashed during the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, when Mr. Navalny came of age.
Yeltsin failed in one important respect: establishing the rule of law. Russia entered an era of cutthroat oligarchic capitalism that was rough, violent, and corrupt. This largely shaped Navalny’s early career after law school, when he focused on fighting corruption by exposing it. He was also a young nationalist who campaigned against immigration to Russia from Central Asia and participated in a march in Moscow that attracted some extremists.
As Mr. Putin pushed Russia further into authoritarianism, Mr. Navalny evolved into a champion of democracy and pragmatic political action, especially after the 2011-2012 protests.His campaign in the Moscow mayoral election In 2013, he demonstrated his talent for grassroots activism. It sparked a national movement. Navalny has developed an app called SmartVote to challenge the Kremlin-backed United Russia party by helping voters find local candidates to oppose Putin’s party. Mr. Navalny and his allies have also shown extraordinary talent for video, producing a series of YouTube documentaries exposing the lavish lifestyle of Mr. Putin and his elite. Just a few weeks ago, even from his Arctic prison, Navalny proposed: Millions of Russians could protest On the day of the upcoming Russian presidential election, Mr. Putin is certain to win without stiff competition.
Through all of this, Mr. Putin has used censorship, destruction, arrests, and an attempted poisoning of Mr. Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok while traveling through central Russia in August 2020 to desperately undermine Mr. Navalny and his movement. tried to suppress it. Mr. Navalny survived and fought back with incredible steely determination. The Oscar-winning documentary film about his struggle depicts how one of the perpetrators of the poisoning, a member of the Russian Federal Security Service, persuaded him to make a shocking confession over the phone. .
Despite his personal suffering, Navalny never gave in to despair or lost his patient sense of humor. He is in solitary confinement in prison, he pointed out on X (formerly Twitter). that he was imprisoned “2.5 x 3 meter concrete dog kennel” Most of the time these cells were cold and damp, but “I bought the beach version, it’s very hot and there’s almost no air,” he said. Ta. He was often denied possession of paper and pencil, but in November, after more than 1,000 days in prison, he posted a call for Russians to read books about their country’s recent history.
Mr. Navalny’s death is a reminder to the United States and its allies that in Mr. Putin they are facing a ruthless enemy whose primary tool is the use of force. Mr. Navalny’s death is a great loss to his family, friends, and the ideals of a free and democratic Russia. But such ideals cannot be defeated. It will be a never-ending struggle to realize Mr. Navalny’s legacy.