Navalny
In which the news of the Russian activist's death prompts me to share a reflection I drafted 2 years ago
Yesterday morning we learned that Alexei Navalny, Russian activist and dissident and a primary rival of Vladimir Putin, has died in an Arctic penal colony. I’ve followed Navalny’s story pretty closely over the years, and I find him to be an inspiring example of bravery, optimism, and human spirit. News of his untimely (and incredibly suspicious) death has me blue.
Two years ago, in March 2022, after Navalny was sentenced to 9 years in prison by Putin’s authoritarian regime, I jotted down the little reflection below. I never posted it anywhere — it was just a little personal noodling of the sort I write all the time. But what the heck; given the day’s news I might as well share it now, here on Jase off his Rocker.
I have spent a few minutes cleaning it up and adding a few links. Forgive any awkwardness. I hadn’t intended to share this. Until now.
Written March 2022, on the news that Alexei Navalny has been imprisoned in Russia.
The tale of Alexei Navalny took a heart-breaking turn last week. Did you see this? Navalny was convicted and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for "corruption," in a trial that international human rights groups describe as a sham.
For those who've not kept themselves abreast of his story, Navalny is a pro-democracy, anti-corruption Russian activist, folk hero, and politician. He's been a vocal opponent of Russia's corrupt oligarchic system and a thorn in Putin's side for a decade. He uses the Internet to share stories of corruption within Russia’s leadership. Among his greatest hits was a drone film showing off the opulent Black Sea estate that is owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and — according to Navalny — financed by corruption.
He seems to be one of the bravest men on earth. He has paid a steep price for his principles, having been beaten, jailed, nearly blinded in an attack that turned his skin deep green, and survived a mid-air assassination attempt involving a nasty poison and a cup of tea. The democracies of the world have (almost) universally praised Navalny for his vision, voice, and courage.
I say “almost” because of the way some leaders in my own country, the United States of America, have reacted to Navalny’s story in recent years. Most notably, Donald Trump has diminished and dismissed Navalny, apparently in an effort to bolster Putin. And Trump’s 70M supporters, the red hats who love red square, have fallen in line.
I can’t think of Navalny without recalling a bizarre moment in 2020 after his poisoning. I wrote about it on Jase Off His Rocker. It was one of the least popular of all my JOHR essays — partly, I think, because I used a diagram of a molecule in the cover image. Word to the wise: don’t use chemistry in your promotional materials.
But let’s review the 2020 incident: Navalny collapsed on a plane, moaning in terrible pain. He was whisked to a German hospital, where he eventually recovered. The Germans investigated and concluded that he had been poisoned before boarding, and that the Russians were behind the poisoning. The Germans formally communicated these findings to the western alliance (the EU, NATO) and formally led sanctions against Putin's regime.
US President Donald Trump was asked to weigh in on the matter at a press conference that September. This was not an issue of American partisan politics. This was a softball question, an easy chance to stand with the international community, maybe score some points with patriotic democracy-loving types. But rather than condemn the brutality of Putin, or praise Navalny's bravery in standing up for democratic ideals, Trump hemmed and hawed, claimed that while it was "tragic," we didn't have any proof of what had happened. He then pivoted into some typically self-congratulatory blather about his own diplomatic skills, which he concluded by claiming that Hillary Clinton would, at this point, be at war with North Korea. It was the statement of a small mind, an empty psyche, a shriveled character.
In so doing, Trump again reminded us — as if we needed it! — of who he is, and what he cares about.
By the way, a few months after that, 70M+ American humans, with brains in their heads, evaluated (among many other things) this about Trump, about Putin, about the poisoned dissident Navalny. They decided to again cast their presidential ballots for Trump. In so doing those Americans also reminded us of who they are, and what they care about.
One of the wilder things I've seen in my lifetime is the American Republican Party's shift from a reasonably coherent advocate for conventional right-wing capitalist and democratic values to basically being an operative of Vladimir Putin's authoritarian hyper-corrupt Russia. Despite what I’ve seen from my countrymen in recent years, I am not without hope for freedom and democracy in the world. The example of the Ukrainian people encourages and inspires me. The example of Alexei Navalny encourages and inspires me. The example of MAGA does not.
Image Source: Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader, after a zelyonka attack in 2017 turned his skin green. Photo by Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Navalny_zelenka.jpg
Great tribute (among other things) to a great man. Heartbreaking and infuriating story.
Love “the red hats who love red square”. Excellent piece, as always. Chemistry won’t turn me away.