I follow a lot of Russian accounts on social media. I first realized something had happened on Friday when I saw Russia’s List magazine publish a photo of Russian opposition leader Navalny with a crying emoji. This was strange. Their posts are usually non-political, most recently about Rothko and Timothée Chalamet in Paris. Wonka And Prince Charles’ health. News of Alexei Navalny’s death hit the Russian-speaking online world shortly before it spread to international media. Initial reactions were cryptic and euphemistic. You can get a feel for the thinking behind the answers. “Is he really dead?” And if so, is it okay to protest his death? As time passed, a question arose. Will someone who normally doesn’t say anything comment on this?
I clicked over to Facebook. A Russian man who I follow a lot of viewers showed an unusually clear expression of anger and disappointment in a post from the United States. The post received dozens of likes, but strangely no comments. It was as if people were watching and waiting. Can we really say that this is bad? Fear spread slowly and then quickly. Less than an hour later, a friend of a friend suddenly found the courage to post praising Navalny’s “great sense of humor, optimism, and self-sarcasm.”
Over time, it has become acceptable to express the idea online that “the more time passes, the less likely you are to be criticized.” In Poland, Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands, some people posted details of their address and meeting time on their Instagram stories. The end of Mr. Navalny’s life is a terrifying, eerie, and inevitable moment that should come as no shock to anyone. But it’s also a moment that can get people excited, even if it means breaking the silence with an emoji.
Within minutes of the announcement, Navalny’s widow Yulia spoke on stage at the Munich Security Conference. “I immediately thought whether I should leave now and fly to my children.” She and Alexei have two children, Daria, 23, and Zakhar, 16. Both attended the Academy Awards last year with their mother to accept the Oscar for Best Documentary for director Daniel Lauer’s film. Navalny. In a speech on Friday, Yulia Navalnaya said impatiently and defiantly: “I would like to call on the international community, everyone in this room, everyone around the world, to overcome this evil.” He said he takes personal responsibility for his actions.