WORLDWIDE APPROACHES
Navalnaya will have to decide whether to lead change from within, like her husband, or from without, like Tijanóvskaya.
What do journalists have in common? Anna Politkovskayaactivist Natalya Estemirova and agent Alexander Litvinenko? The first two investigated human rights violations committed during the Chechen war. The third escaped to the United Kingdom after a distinguished career in the secret services and after threatening to reveal shady deals and plans sponsored by the Kremlin.
What happened to the contractor Prigozhin? What happened to the lawyer Magnitsky? What happened to the opponent Boris Nemtsov? They all shared the same fate. They all died suddenly, shot, poisoned or accidentally, after denouncing the corruption of the court of Vladimir Putinafter investigating military actions and abuses by the Army, or after criticizing the Tsar’s authoritarianism since his arrival at the summit in late 99.
He joined the list of dead bodies Alexey Navalnythe most popular opponent for a long time: the democratic leader who took thousands of compatriots to the streets to protest against the regime in a country where speaking against the leader has a high price.
His fight against corruption attracted millions of Russians, horrified by the opulent lives of the KGB heirs in a country where two in ten Russians relieve themselves in latrines. What he achieved was simply impressive. Three years ago, one of their mobilizations ended with a police repression televised around the world and Moscow’s dungeons were filled to the limit, with more than 5,000 people being detained.
Putin showed no mercy to Navalny. First they poisoned him. He survived. So they arrested him. He endured it. They finally transferred him to a center in the Arctic, under what conditions. And there he died on February 16, at the age of 47.
“Putin’s defeat in Ukraine would open an opportunity for transition in Russia”
Many wonder what will happen now to the fight for democracy in Russia. The most popular opponents are in exile, in prison or dead. So what hope is left to free a country ruled with an iron fist? Who will risk repeating the fate of the martyrs?
Julia Navalnaya to assume. Perhaps with the current example of the Belarusian Republic Svietlana Tikhanovskaiawho came forward after her husband’s arrest by dictator Lukashenko. Or Zhanna Netmsova, daughter of the murdered Boris Nemtsov. Or from Evgenia Kara-Murzaprisoner’s wife Vladimir Kara Murza.
Putin counts the days to resolve the March electoral farce and extend his term until 2030. Navalnaya will have to decide whether to lead the change from within, like her husband, or from outside, like Tikhanovskaya. With each option you run a different risk and it won’t be easy. But it is guided by the conviction that Putin’s defeat in Ukraine would open an opportunity for transition and by the confidence that dreams of freedom are stronger than Novichok, bombs and the threat from Siberia.