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https://theconversation.com/even-the-worst-possible-scenario-is-not-actually-all-that-bad-alexei-navalnys-memoir-is-a-testament-to-resisting-authoritarianism-242294>
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Review: Patriot – Alexei Navalny (Penguin Random House)
No one who watched Alexei Navalny’s meteoric trajectory, from civic activist to
opposition leader to the world’s most famous political prisoner, could avoid
the question: how will this extraordinary saga end? Was Navalny destined to
become Russia’s Nelson Mandela, a redemptive leader who guided his people from
oppression to the promised land of democracy? Or was he doomed to be silenced
by the henchmen of the despot whose rule he had challenged?
We now know the answer. Before his death in an Arctic prison in February,
Navalny also pondered his uncertain future. In the epilogue of his
autobiography,
Patriot, he recalls a poignant conversation with his wife,
Yulia, in which both come to terms with the likelihood he will die in
captivity.
Yet at the same time, he writes, “there is an inner voice that you can’t
stifle: Come off it, the worst is never going to happen.”
These two possible destinies have left their mark on Navalny’s book. The first
part is a candid, often funny and self-deprecatory narrative of his life, his
activism and the making of his political career. This section is framed by his
shocking 2020 poisoning with the nerve agent novichok, his recuperation in
Germany and his subsequent return to Russia.
The second part is a prison diary, interspersed with public statements and his
“final words” at trials. As he is shunted between ever more hellish outposts of
Putin’s penitentiary system, the text becomes more fragmented.
For many months, his sleep was disrupted by hourly inspections because he was
an “escape risk”. Later, during a long stretch in a punishment cell, he endured
the unrelenting, blood-curdling screams of his neighbour “the psycho,” a
murderer used by the administration to torment Navalny.
What lends unity to his book is the unwavering consistency of Navalny’s
resistance. As a pro-democracy activist, he instigated mass protests that
repeatedly shook the foundations of Putin’s dictatorship. As an anti-corruption
campaigner, he shone a spotlight on the kleptocratic rot that festered behind
the patriotic posturing of Kremlin propagandists. As a political prisoner, he
demonstrated extraordinary moral courage, speaking out against war while
enduring mistreatment that can only be described as torture."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
