Much, if not most, of the "news" regarding this man Navalny is just propaganda by the Western media. He is being lauded as a hero and the principal "opposition" leader in Russia. This is hogwash. It is all lies!
How is a man that could not even win the Mayor of Moscow election a "leading opposition figure?" He had a 2% approval rating. Also, he had ties and views consistent with ultranationalists.
It is so hypocritical that a Western elite who thinks that "migrants" and immigrants are essentially God can extol a man like Navalny. He viewed migrants as cockroaches.
Powerful message. Thank you for sharing. I haven’t read other comments yet but I have no doubt others are drawing parallels to the current state of affairs in the United States.
This is exactly what we are experiencing right now, here, in the United States. We are being told by the media to “look away, believe in the SCIENCE, not listen to so-called disinformation.” Any formally conservative viewpoints are now labeled “ultra-right.” Just look away!!
America has been moving down the same path for many years. I continue to refuse to look the other way. At some point the silent majority will be fed some shit they will refuse to eat. I hope a peaceful change in trajectory is possible with all my heart.
Alexei Navalny had a past as an extreme Russian nationalist until at least 2017, to the point that his hate speech caused Amnesty International to suspend his status as "prisoner of conscience":
His participation in the nationalist Russia Marches got him expelled from the liberal Yabloko party. This streak of extreme ethnic Russian nationalism against the "enemy nations within" dates from the Tsarist period and has resurged in Russia.
Navalny's elevation to near-sainthood matches the whitewashing of Ukraine's extremist elements, like the "controversial" Azov Brigade, renamed 3rd Special Assault Brigade. "Controversial" is used as a synonym for "neo-Nazi", as in the founder of the Azov Movement, Andrei Biletsky's statement that the movement would finish "the crusade against the Jewish Untermenschen in Europe". Definitely "controversial".
The flood of propaganda since the Ukraine War has turned every opponent of Putin into a democratic light, including Navalny and Azov.
Much more realistic is to view the Ukraine-Russia War like the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s: two awful regimes bashing each other. May they both lose.
Navalny was openly a Russian nationalist, yet I am not sure who elevated him into “near-sainthood.” I don’t believe he advocated for a violent uprising or a coup; instead, he sought a way to a legitimate election. His predecessor Michael Khodorkovsky wasn’t a Russian nationalist but would have met the same fate had he not been released thanks to the outside interference.
Azov Batallion and Pravi Sektor are militant, ultranationalist right wing groups that, yes, have been compared to Nazi.
And while I agree that both countries are deeply corrupt and problematic, comparing Navalny to people running Azov or Pravi is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?
Navalny's statements that certain minorities are cockroaches, his gig dressing up as a dentist to extract the illness from Russia, show he is cut from the same cloth as other extreme nationalists in Ukraine and Russia.
He may not have had the organizational ability to turn those raw public statements into a coherent political movement like Azov.
Read all the recent obituaries on Navalny to see how they've whitewashed his past.
I'm not sure of the relevance of pointing out Navalny was preceded by non-extreme people of truly democratic convictions, other than reflecting badly on him.
I understand your overall criticism of the Western media's portrayal of resisting to Putin as martyrdom, regardless of the nature of the opposition, yet such distinctions are important. Putin suppressed ANY kind of opposition that challenged his ability to stay in power, be it Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya (who reported extensively on the conditions in Chechnya), Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Aleksandr Litvinenko, or Alexei Navalny – all of whom are now dead, except Khodorkovsky. All these opposition leaders did have a coherent framework within which they worked, and nationalist or not they did not carry out their ideas the same way as Azov.
Actually Putin regularly attended receptions put on by Echo Moscow, a liberal and dissident radio station setup by Alexei Venediktov until the station was shut down at the start of the Ukraine war in 2022:
Compare with the unwillingness of Democratic officials to appear, in any context, at any event from Fox News.
I've been alarmed by the willingness to ignore any tendencies, even the most overtly neo-Nazi ones, by Putin's opponents in Ukraine and Russia in order to satisfy the geopolitical needs of the moment. The cure may be worse than the illness (remember the enthusiasm for arming Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan to fight Russia's invasion?).
I used to listen to Yulia Latynina's Access Code, a program of Echo Moscow until she left Russia after multiple attempts that initially scared her with violent pranks and then openly tried to assassinate her when her car was set on fire. She left Russia before the Echo Moscow was shut down, fearing for her life. In short, I don't know which receptions Putin attended as none of it matters. That does not mean that it is ok for the Western media to willfully or unwilfully ignore the corruption or extreme tendencies that take place in Ukraine - a concern of yours that I share - but again, comparing Navalny to Ukranian militant groups or Islamic Jihadis is a stretch too far.
"comparing Navalny to Ukranian militant groups or Islamic Jihadis is a stretch too far"
Possibly, although not the Russia March he participated in.
But, excluding literary talent, Navalny could compare to Solzhenitsyn. He too was idolized in the West as a democratic opponent of the Soviet system, although some of Sakharov's associates wrote about his nationalist tendencies. Sure enough, after the fall of the Soviet Union, he laid it bare with his criticism of Western freedom and his anti-Semitic diatribe "Two Hundred Years Together".
Russian nationalists of any stripe are closer to Azov than they are to Western democracy.
I am reminded of Solzhenitsyn’s parting words to the Russian people in his essay Live Not By Lies. We may not have the courage to stand alongside Navalny and walk knowingly to our death, but we can refuse to give our consent to the lies. This essay should be required reading for every American high school student. “And as for him who lacks the courage to defend even his own soul: Let him not brag of his progressive views, boast of his status as an academician or a recognized artist, a distinguished citizen or general. Let him say to himself plainly: I am cattle, I am a coward, I seek only warmth and to eat my fill.”
Colleen, thank you for this. It is now an addition to the list of quotes that I keep, of things said that particularly strike me as important, things that should not be allowed to the slide into the memory hole.
I am no hero, but I hope to live out my life without sinking into existence as an unthinking, unresponsive herd animal.
You are correct and so am I as far as I took it. Although I will say that I do think that Trump is risking much—his freedom, his financial empire, and maybe even his life—by not having quit long ago.
Reading this, I have to wonder how Navalny has suddenly become a hero for the Left. He could as easily be addressing their own corruption and lies.
But as he says so astutely, "People don’t work like this." The Left has adopted Navalny as an icon solely because he was fighting against Putin, another of their designated "Literally Hitler"s.
If he were a citizen of the U.S., he would likely be rejecting the Leftist media who tell nothing but lies, rejecting political Democrats who deny the evidence of our own eyes. And they would turn on him just as readily as they have embraced him.
I do agree - but once the leaders in a country are able to show complete disregard for the law in order to push their agenda then where do you see that heading?
To all my fellow conservatives who keep comparing injustices done to Trump and J6 defendants to those done to Navalny and his followers, let me point out a few (very) minor differences: (1) Navalny was poisoned (I believe he is the only known survivor of this particular agent), then thrown to prison, then killed; as far as I know Trump is still alive and free, (2) people who dared to support Navalny or contribute to his cause have been thrown in jail (even for facebook likes), which - as his experience shows - can be a one-way ticket in Russia; as far as I know none of supporters of Trump or the J6 have been. I know that sitting on a comfortable couch in US these differences do seem minor, but believe me the perspective may be different from Russia. None of this is meant to belittle the injustice of NY verdict or many other cases, or the dangerous slope we are on in this country. However, a sense of proportion is always an asset.
Many of the J6 participants have been held in jail without trial this entire time! Those who’ve been tried have been given unbelievable sentences, decades long sentences. You need to look into their cases before you speak because all of them are suffering the weaponized justice system of Biden. These J6 defendants are political prisoners.
I believe the J6 defendants have been held in jail not because of some nefarious machinations but because they either couldn’t post bail or were deemed a flight risk. And sentences decades long? I believe some force was used. J6 wasn’t just chanting and sign holding. People were injured and property destroyed.
You make some good points. However, my understanding is that a number of people who were involved in January 6 are actually in jail and their civil rights have been denied. This statement doesn’t condone Trump’s extremely poor judgment in organizing that rally.
1) The conditions that Navalny and other political prisoners have to endure (he was almost continuously in punishment cell for things like failing to great the jailer soon enough or not keeping his slippers together - i.e., pretense causes; his last place of incarceration was North of the Polar Circle) are - fortunately - nothing like what J6 convicts have to go through, though I am sure a jail is never a pleasant experience. However, in Russia the intent is to torture.
2) Many of the J6 cases I followed involved defendants pleading guilty. I understand this was on the advice of their public "defenders" (few could afford own lawyers). However, this is something Navalny and other political prisoners consistently refused to do. I think it is harder to mount public campaign for someone who has plead guilty to a crime.
3) Most surprising. Where were the public protests against the J6 arrests and verdicts? Where were the fund-raising campaigns to cover their legal costs? Where was Trump or Desantis or Pence or other conservative leaders? Why were they not leading a campaign to help J6 arrestees? In Russia, even now people are risking arrests to lay flowers at make-shift memorials. A few years ago, when Navalny was already in jail, there were 1000s of people on the street protesting (most of them were arrested and are facing prosecution). Somehow American Conservatives - with much less on the line - showed much less spine in this case.
I don’t like Trump for a lot of valid reasons, but I believe he represents a point of view that those in power will not allow to survive. If he wins the presidency in spite of all these court cases, I will not be surprised if he ends up with a CIA heart attack.
Be true and what we are told we must SAY is true in this country right now is unbearable. If you still support the left then I wish you would stop and consider what they are actually doing. I am reading a book
Series that takes place in WW2 Germany and someone looks around and asks - how did people ever let it get this far? I look at people who turn a blind eye to the evils of the left and I see clearly how it could happen and how it is happening here. The Free Press is the one looking away - they are the ones who are the censors - the totalitarians - the bullies. Maybe they think they are doing it for a good reason. But you guys know that the total lack of justice and free speech is wrong. I am tired of you guys voting for policies that are destroying everything I love about this country and then when those policies hurt someone you actually care about you want us to care. When you have shown no care for other people. Justice is important or it isn’t. Truth is important or it isn’t. Free speech and democracy is important or it isn’t. The rule of law is important or it isn’t. It is disingenuous to pick and choose when these ideals matter and when they don’t. Having integrity means you have to care - even when it is happening to others
You threw me when you capitalized "Free Press". On first reading I thought you were talking about this publication. But I realized that you mean something akin to the 'mainstream media'.
Much, if not most, of the "news" regarding this man Navalny is just propaganda by the Western media. He is being lauded as a hero and the principal "opposition" leader in Russia. This is hogwash. It is all lies!
How is a man that could not even win the Mayor of Moscow election a "leading opposition figure?" He had a 2% approval rating. Also, he had ties and views consistent with ultranationalists.
It is so hypocritical that a Western elite who thinks that "migrants" and immigrants are essentially God can extol a man like Navalny. He viewed migrants as cockroaches.
The propaganda is unreal.
Powerful message. Thank you for sharing. I haven’t read other comments yet but I have no doubt others are drawing parallels to the current state of affairs in the United States.
Thank you Konstantin Kissen 🙏
This is exactly what we are experiencing right now, here, in the United States. We are being told by the media to “look away, believe in the SCIENCE, not listen to so-called disinformation.” Any formally conservative viewpoints are now labeled “ultra-right.” Just look away!!
Navalny quoted Solzhenitsyn, "Live not by lies." Good man. It also applies to us.
America has been moving down the same path for many years. I continue to refuse to look the other way. At some point the silent majority will be fed some shit they will refuse to eat. I hope a peaceful change in trajectory is possible with all my heart.
Alexei Navalny had a past as an extreme Russian nationalist until at least 2017, to the point that his hate speech caused Amnesty International to suspend his status as "prisoner of conscience":
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/24/970995185/amnesty-rescinds-prisoner-of-conscience-designation-for-russia-activist-navalny
His participation in the nationalist Russia Marches got him expelled from the liberal Yabloko party. This streak of extreme ethnic Russian nationalism against the "enemy nations within" dates from the Tsarist period and has resurged in Russia.
Navalny's elevation to near-sainthood matches the whitewashing of Ukraine's extremist elements, like the "controversial" Azov Brigade, renamed 3rd Special Assault Brigade. "Controversial" is used as a synonym for "neo-Nazi", as in the founder of the Azov Movement, Andrei Biletsky's statement that the movement would finish "the crusade against the Jewish Untermenschen in Europe". Definitely "controversial".
The flood of propaganda since the Ukraine War has turned every opponent of Putin into a democratic light, including Navalny and Azov.
Much more realistic is to view the Ukraine-Russia War like the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s: two awful regimes bashing each other. May they both lose.
Navalny was openly a Russian nationalist, yet I am not sure who elevated him into “near-sainthood.” I don’t believe he advocated for a violent uprising or a coup; instead, he sought a way to a legitimate election. His predecessor Michael Khodorkovsky wasn’t a Russian nationalist but would have met the same fate had he not been released thanks to the outside interference.
Azov Batallion and Pravi Sektor are militant, ultranationalist right wing groups that, yes, have been compared to Nazi.
And while I agree that both countries are deeply corrupt and problematic, comparing Navalny to people running Azov or Pravi is a bit of a stretch, don’t you think?
Navalny's statements that certain minorities are cockroaches, his gig dressing up as a dentist to extract the illness from Russia, show he is cut from the same cloth as other extreme nationalists in Ukraine and Russia.
He may not have had the organizational ability to turn those raw public statements into a coherent political movement like Azov.
Read all the recent obituaries on Navalny to see how they've whitewashed his past.
I'm not sure of the relevance of pointing out Navalny was preceded by non-extreme people of truly democratic convictions, other than reflecting badly on him.
I understand your overall criticism of the Western media's portrayal of resisting to Putin as martyrdom, regardless of the nature of the opposition, yet such distinctions are important. Putin suppressed ANY kind of opposition that challenged his ability to stay in power, be it Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya (who reported extensively on the conditions in Chechnya), Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Aleksandr Litvinenko, or Alexei Navalny – all of whom are now dead, except Khodorkovsky. All these opposition leaders did have a coherent framework within which they worked, and nationalist or not they did not carry out their ideas the same way as Azov.
Actually Putin regularly attended receptions put on by Echo Moscow, a liberal and dissident radio station setup by Alexei Venediktov until the station was shut down at the start of the Ukraine war in 2022:
https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/how-putin-s-war-changed-my-moscow-a-3b5049e7-93fd-4c2a-9c9f-742635ae2099
Compare with the unwillingness of Democratic officials to appear, in any context, at any event from Fox News.
I've been alarmed by the willingness to ignore any tendencies, even the most overtly neo-Nazi ones, by Putin's opponents in Ukraine and Russia in order to satisfy the geopolitical needs of the moment. The cure may be worse than the illness (remember the enthusiasm for arming Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan to fight Russia's invasion?).
I used to listen to Yulia Latynina's Access Code, a program of Echo Moscow until she left Russia after multiple attempts that initially scared her with violent pranks and then openly tried to assassinate her when her car was set on fire. She left Russia before the Echo Moscow was shut down, fearing for her life. In short, I don't know which receptions Putin attended as none of it matters. That does not mean that it is ok for the Western media to willfully or unwilfully ignore the corruption or extreme tendencies that take place in Ukraine - a concern of yours that I share - but again, comparing Navalny to Ukranian militant groups or Islamic Jihadis is a stretch too far.
"comparing Navalny to Ukranian militant groups or Islamic Jihadis is a stretch too far"
Possibly, although not the Russia March he participated in.
But, excluding literary talent, Navalny could compare to Solzhenitsyn. He too was idolized in the West as a democratic opponent of the Soviet system, although some of Sakharov's associates wrote about his nationalist tendencies. Sure enough, after the fall of the Soviet Union, he laid it bare with his criticism of Western freedom and his anti-Semitic diatribe "Two Hundred Years Together".
Russian nationalists of any stripe are closer to Azov than they are to Western democracy.
I just listened to this on Honestly. Wow! This was truly excellent journalism.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0c0hY1GlfXRRAUM0QYJBwu?si=NGQ_mmAVRF2K67nN1ZNm2w
I'd like to hear from all those who love Tucker Carlson in response to this piece.
I am reminded of Solzhenitsyn’s parting words to the Russian people in his essay Live Not By Lies. We may not have the courage to stand alongside Navalny and walk knowingly to our death, but we can refuse to give our consent to the lies. This essay should be required reading for every American high school student. “And as for him who lacks the courage to defend even his own soul: Let him not brag of his progressive views, boast of his status as an academician or a recognized artist, a distinguished citizen or general. Let him say to himself plainly: I am cattle, I am a coward, I seek only warmth and to eat my fill.”
https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/
Colleen, thank you for this. It is now an addition to the list of quotes that I keep, of things said that particularly strike me as important, things that should not be allowed to the slide into the memory hole.
I am no hero, but I hope to live out my life without sinking into existence as an unthinking, unresponsive herd animal.
Mary, read the whole essay if you get a chance. It’s replete with quotes I want burned into my memory.
A hero, and his plight a cautionary tale for us here in the US
You are correct and so am I as far as I took it. Although I will say that I do think that Trump is risking much—his freedom, his financial empire, and maybe even his life—by not having quit long ago.
Thank you, Konstantin!
Reading this, I have to wonder how Navalny has suddenly become a hero for the Left. He could as easily be addressing their own corruption and lies.
But as he says so astutely, "People don’t work like this." The Left has adopted Navalny as an icon solely because he was fighting against Putin, another of their designated "Literally Hitler"s.
If he were a citizen of the U.S., he would likely be rejecting the Leftist media who tell nothing but lies, rejecting political Democrats who deny the evidence of our own eyes. And they would turn on him just as readily as they have embraced him.
I do agree - but once the leaders in a country are able to show complete disregard for the law in order to push their agenda then where do you see that heading?
To all my fellow conservatives who keep comparing injustices done to Trump and J6 defendants to those done to Navalny and his followers, let me point out a few (very) minor differences: (1) Navalny was poisoned (I believe he is the only known survivor of this particular agent), then thrown to prison, then killed; as far as I know Trump is still alive and free, (2) people who dared to support Navalny or contribute to his cause have been thrown in jail (even for facebook likes), which - as his experience shows - can be a one-way ticket in Russia; as far as I know none of supporters of Trump or the J6 have been. I know that sitting on a comfortable couch in US these differences do seem minor, but believe me the perspective may be different from Russia. None of this is meant to belittle the injustice of NY verdict or many other cases, or the dangerous slope we are on in this country. However, a sense of proportion is always an asset.
Many of the J6 participants have been held in jail without trial this entire time! Those who’ve been tried have been given unbelievable sentences, decades long sentences. You need to look into their cases before you speak because all of them are suffering the weaponized justice system of Biden. These J6 defendants are political prisoners.
I believe the J6 defendants have been held in jail not because of some nefarious machinations but because they either couldn’t post bail or were deemed a flight risk. And sentences decades long? I believe some force was used. J6 wasn’t just chanting and sign holding. People were injured and property destroyed.
You “believe.” You really should read about the details of their cases. You’d be surprised, and I bet your “beliefs” about J6 would change.
You make some good points. However, my understanding is that a number of people who were involved in January 6 are actually in jail and their civil rights have been denied. This statement doesn’t condone Trump’s extremely poor judgment in organizing that rally.
I agree about J6. A few points however:
1) The conditions that Navalny and other political prisoners have to endure (he was almost continuously in punishment cell for things like failing to great the jailer soon enough or not keeping his slippers together - i.e., pretense causes; his last place of incarceration was North of the Polar Circle) are - fortunately - nothing like what J6 convicts have to go through, though I am sure a jail is never a pleasant experience. However, in Russia the intent is to torture.
2) Many of the J6 cases I followed involved defendants pleading guilty. I understand this was on the advice of their public "defenders" (few could afford own lawyers). However, this is something Navalny and other political prisoners consistently refused to do. I think it is harder to mount public campaign for someone who has plead guilty to a crime.
3) Most surprising. Where were the public protests against the J6 arrests and verdicts? Where were the fund-raising campaigns to cover their legal costs? Where was Trump or Desantis or Pence or other conservative leaders? Why were they not leading a campaign to help J6 arrestees? In Russia, even now people are risking arrests to lay flowers at make-shift memorials. A few years ago, when Navalny was already in jail, there were 1000s of people on the street protesting (most of them were arrested and are facing prosecution). Somehow American Conservatives - with much less on the line - showed much less spine in this case.
I don’t like Trump for a lot of valid reasons, but I believe he represents a point of view that those in power will not allow to survive. If he wins the presidency in spite of all these court cases, I will not be surprised if he ends up with a CIA heart attack.
Agreed completely. I’m struggling to think of something they won’t try in order to stop him. Including “saving democracy”.
The difference between what we know to
Be true and what we are told we must SAY is true in this country right now is unbearable. If you still support the left then I wish you would stop and consider what they are actually doing. I am reading a book
Series that takes place in WW2 Germany and someone looks around and asks - how did people ever let it get this far? I look at people who turn a blind eye to the evils of the left and I see clearly how it could happen and how it is happening here. The Free Press is the one looking away - they are the ones who are the censors - the totalitarians - the bullies. Maybe they think they are doing it for a good reason. But you guys know that the total lack of justice and free speech is wrong. I am tired of you guys voting for policies that are destroying everything I love about this country and then when those policies hurt someone you actually care about you want us to care. When you have shown no care for other people. Justice is important or it isn’t. Truth is important or it isn’t. Free speech and democracy is important or it isn’t. The rule of law is important or it isn’t. It is disingenuous to pick and choose when these ideals matter and when they don’t. Having integrity means you have to care - even when it is happening to others
You threw me when you capitalized "Free Press". On first reading I thought you were talking about this publication. But I realized that you mean something akin to the 'mainstream media'.
Still a great comment...
His song always hits the right notes. But there are always the tone-deafs. We miss you, Alexei.