The meaning of Russian opposition leader Navalny's life

Those who cross swords with Vladimir Putin have a nasty tendency to die before their time. And to many, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was on borrowed time, especially after he returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany – where he had been recuperating after being poisoned with a nerve agent.

Nonetheless, Navalny’s apparent death came as a blow to pro-democracy campaigners the world over. For over a decade, Navalny tried to push back the tide of authoritarianism in Russia.

The fact that he died weeks before Putin is reelected as president − and the fact that we can say that Putin will be reelected − suggests that he failed.

But today’s article by Indiana University political scientist Regina Smyth suggests that isn’t entirely the right way to see things.

“Navalny understood that opposition in Russia was about exposing the corruption in Putin’s party; shining a light on electoral manipulation; and alerting the world to growing political violence,” she writes. “Navalny highlighted the very real opposition to Putin and authoritarian rule that exists in Russia despite attempts to hide it from the world.”

And in that, he succeeded.

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