Life plays
amazing tricks on me. I often donate books to Little Free Libraries, but I
seldom take any from these libraries. On December 28, 2024, I told my family
that I would like to read Alexei Navalny’s book. Two days later, I checked a
Little Free Library located 45 minutes away from where I live. To this date, I
do not know what made me check that Little Free Library. I was by myself, so nobody
encouraged me to do so. It was astonishing to meet Navalny’s blue eyes on the vibrant
book cover of a hardcover somebody had left behind. Yes,
I found his book right there.
To say that
I was in awe is an understatement.
The book is brand new. I think somebody may
have received it as a Christmas gift and may have passed it on without reading
it. I think it is fair to say that somebody’s apathy became my gift, and it is not just a gift but it is also a great responsibility.
Reading Patriot is an immersive,
fascinating experience. It made me laugh and cry, and it connected me to this
man’s humanity, kindness and intelligence. It is the kind of book that stays
with you long after you finish it. I like to re-read parts of it and I scribble
notes to reflect on his wisdom, experiences and ideas.
The book starts with his experience of being
poisoned in August 2020 with the Novichok nerve agent. Because of this he was hospitalized
in an intensive care unit in Berlin; he required a period of rehabilitation in
Germany to recover.
Alexei Navalny’s writing then goes back in
time to the years of his childhood and youth. He shares the social, cultural
and political context of his childhood and youth. Furthermore, he reveals the
challenges he faced when he attended university.
His writing style is riveting and friendly. As
I read his book, I experienced a certain familiarity with the author. I felt he
was like a friend to me; he is the kind of person I would be happy to spend
hours chatting with about life, history and anything else.
As a reader, you will get to know him well. Every
anecdote he shares helps us to understand him as a person. I have the feeling that
I have known him all my life.
The horrifying experience of being poisoned did
not dissuade him from returning to Russia in January 2021. Soon after he landed
on Russia, however, he was detained, a reminder that Putin’s regime operates
with total impunity.
Alexei
was kind, fearless and courageous in every situation. His honesty and
transparency united people who wanted to stand up against the tyranny of
Vladimir Putin, a man who behaves like a king. Over the years Putin has crumbled the economy and
future of his country to abuse his power and to serve the interests of the
oligarchy.
I appreciate the way Alexei Navalny describes
what Putin has done to the economy in Russia. Navalny does not mince words when he unveils
the incompetence of Putin: “Putin has stolen the last twenty years of Russia.
He could have used these years to turn Russia into a prosperous country. All of
us could have lived better. Instead, twenty million people live below the
poverty line. Part of the money Putin and his cronies simply stole was
squandered. They did nothing good for our country, and that is their worst
crime against our children and the country’s future.”
The Kremlin wanted to make Navalny feel that he
was alone, isolated and lonely. He was not. Navalny counted on the solidarity
and support of millions of people who valued his work. The solidarity and
support he received are a testament to his bravery and kindness. To learn the
details of Navalny’s work, I encourage you to read Patriot. His book delves
into the details of his work. I was greatly impressed by how he consistently worked with his team to
unmask the corruption under Putin’s regime.
Alexei
Navalny had to deal with the forces of an authoritarian regime that tried to
silence and demoralize him. Yet Navalny never surrendered to fear. The history
of his country is one of the interesting aspects of this book: “Throughout our
history we have had tsars, then emperors, then general secretaries, then
presidents, and all of them have been authoritarian. We can’t go on like that.”
Alexei Navalny was a peaceful warrior whose only weapon was the truth and the facts. He and his team exposed the corruption of the regime through videos and blog posts. Millions of people appreciated his work, not only online but also the work he did by meeting people from all walks of life to communicate with them in-person.
Truth and facts endowed Alexei Navalny with
inner strength, courage and resilience. These qualities helped him deal with
the cruelty of his imprisonment, which was like a kind of “concentration camp”
during the last years of his life.
The
torture and atrocities that he was able to document in those prisons during the
last months of his life left me speechless.
Under Putin’s regime Alexei Navalny was falsely charged with acts he never committed. The falsehoods were spread by Russian Television, which promotes Putin's propaganda.
The
European Court of Human Rights declared that Navalny was innocent and demanded
his release several times to no avail.
Alexei Navalny also reveals the reason why
Putin invaded Ukraine. Putin used the war on Ukraine to distract people from the
disastrous situation in Russia: the economic stagnation, rising prices and
rampant lawlessness under Putin’s regime in Russia were a threat to Putin’s
power. Putin wanted to cover up this situation by creating a distraction, so he
invaded Ukraine.
Navalny
explains that Putin used his imperial mindset to distract people and to
manipulate Russians into supporting the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Putin persecutes those who try to speak up against the injustices and
oppression of Russia's current regime. Yet Trump has referred to Putin as a “genius” and he considers Vladimir
Putin his “friend.” It is disturbing, albeit not surprising, to see that Donald
Trump supports Putin’s interests and that he repeats Putin’s narrative. It was deeply distressing and unsettling to witness Donald Trump blaming Zelensky for the war in Ukraine.
I urge every American citizen to read Patriot by Alexei Navalny. It will help Americans to awaken to the truth and to understand what is at stake in the United States of America and the world.
Alexei Navalny’s integrity shines
through his behaviors and words, and it is also alive in the behaviors of his
family. Also, his brother, Oleg, is a hero and you will find out more about him
in his book.
The injustices that Alexei and his family had to go through will cause outrage, but it is my hope that his book will raise awareness on the need to work to preserve democratic principles and to understand the need for fair elections to protect democracy.
I was
in awe to read that Navalny always sought the slivers of light and hope in the darkest
situations he faced. His sense of humor was irresistible, and he always found
an opportunity to learn something new and move forward through every challenge.
The positive attitude in his book reminded me of the character in the movie Life
is beautiful in which the father tries to create a bubble of hope and joy
for his son amid the despair and constraints of a concentration camp.
It is
hard not to shed tears as I write about Navalny. He was only forty-seven years
old when he lost his life for simply standing up to injustice. Alexei Navalny’s
indomitable, joyful, resilient spirit is a gift to humanity, a legacy that will
continue to inspire generations of people as long as we keep his memory alive.
Navalny’s steady, peaceful fight will live on in the hearts and minds of those
who believe in democratic principles and the Rule of Law.
Alexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia, continues his work. She shares his enthusiasm, inspiration and zest for life. I found this brief interview with Yulia Navalnaya from PBS here.
I also want to share this powerful statement by
Alexei Navalny from his book Patriot: “It is very important not to be
fearful of people who are seeking the truth, and perhaps even to find ways of
supporting them, directly, indirectly, perhaps even not supporting them, but at
least not contributing to the deceit, not making the world around you a worse
place.”
Alexei Navalny was an activist, lawyer,
blogger, journalist and a Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption
campaigner. He was imprisoned for no reason other than the fact that he stood
up against tyranny and the actions of a dictator. His many international honors
included the Sakharov Prize, the European Parliament’s annual human rights
prize; the Courage Award from the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy;
and the Dresden Peace Prize, among others. Navalny appeared on Time magazine’s
“100 Most Influential People” and “25 Most Influential People on the internet”
lists.
Relevant
links:
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-russia-trump-war-zelenskyy-putin-7fe8c0c80b4e93e3bc079c621a44e8bb
