Navalny’s friends knew he was willing to become a martyr if that’s what it took to stand up to Putin.
Alexei Navalny’s long struggle against President Putin began with a humorous blog and culminated in repeated demonstrations of his willingness to risk his own life. According to the Russian authorities on Friday, he has now died in prison.
Russia’s leading opposition voice has been silenced.
Other dissident figures went into exile or died in mysterious circumstances over the past decade, leaving Navalny as the last national figure with a dedicated following.
Though he had been arrested many times before, Navalny’s defining moment in the eyes of many Russians came after the attempt to assassinate him with Novichok. He recuperated in the sanctuary of a German hospital but chose to defy Putin and return to Russia in January 2021, knowing full well he would end up in prison.
“Navalny released YouTube videos in which he likened Islamic militants to cockroaches, called for the deportation of immigrant workers, and vowed to defend the rights of ethnic Russians in Russia.”
This is a pretty mainstream view for a lot of countries.
Anti immigration doesn’t mean you’re a racist.
For context on militants: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamil_Basayev
I’m not sure if you’re right or wrong. We are talking about comments made over 15 years ago.
Let me put it to you this way - would you rather Putin or Navalny in charge of Russia?
Obviously Navalny.
Kadirov’s troops still exist. After killing russians in Russia they did some killing ukrainians in Ukraine, but I think they are back to killing russians too.