Hello dear reader. Today’s post is a bit different. A bit more political. Political, because writing about this topic is important to me, and I felt like I have to write about it.
Today’s post is going to be about Alexei Navalny.
Putin never calls Navalny by his name. Why is that so? Well, he doesn’t want to give him, what he did, and what he represented, any importance. That’s why he gives him names such as “this gentleman” or “the Berlin patient” (Navalny was treated in the Berlin Charité after a Novichok poisoning in 2020).
In the past, when Putin was being confronted in interviews with why he didn’t say Navalny’s name, he ignored the question.
That’s like in Harry Potter. The evil guy’s name in Harry Potter is Voldemort, and no one (in this case only Putin) dares to say his name. Voldemort pursues a racist ideology that promotes purebloods and discriminates against Muggle-born people (witches and wizards with non-magical ancestors).
Waaait a minute! I see a connection here. I’ve found something on the Internet, and it sounds awfully like that. The articles were not about Voldemort though. Here, let me share what I’ve found with you.
“При выходе с самолета проверяют документы, а прямо за кабинками с проверяющими стоит толпа совершенно адски выглядящих элкаэнов, которое даже слова «на такси поедем?» по-русски выговорить не могут.“
Translation: When you get off the plane, they check your documents, and right behind the cubicles with the inspectors is a crowd of absolutely evil looking Elkaenes (insult for people from the Caucasus) who can't even pronounce "do you need a cab?" properly.
(This is from Navalny’s blog. I sadly didn’t find that post on his blog anymore. I think that it’s from 2009. Perhaps I didn't look hard enough).
Right now, everybody is extremely sad about Navalny having passed away (probably it was murder), and it is a tragedy so please don’t get me wrong.
I have a problem with Navalny being celebrated like he was Russia’s last hope though. Yes, he was the lead figure of the strongest opposition there was, targeting Putin’s regime and the system’s corruption. Every person shall be mourned, but Navalny (in my eyes) should not be presented as the Russian messiah. He ain’t no Martin Luther King, he ain’t no Nelson Mandela, he ain’t no Mahatma Gandhi.
Navalny was Putin's biggest opponent, but shouldn’t people also ask themselves what he stood for politically?
Back in the year 2007, when Navalny was not known that well yet, they kicked him out of the Jabloko-party (a party in Russia that promotes liberal and democratic values, emphasizes individual freedom, human rights, the rule of law, and political pluralism).
They kicked him out of the party for a video in which Navalny basically calls out for immigrants to be shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVNJiO10SWw
Sergej Mitrochin (former leader of the “Jabloko-party”), says “as he [Navalny] leaves the meeting room after the announcement of his expulsion, he does the Hitler salute and shouts “Слава России” (glory to Russia).
In 2007 Navalny was 31 years old. He was no longer an adolescent who (in my eyes) could possibly be forgiven for such a faux pas.
In another video he says, “No one has to be beaten. Everything that disturbs us should be gently but firmly removed by deportation. Navalny is dressed like a dentist in this short video, comparing immigrants to dental cavities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVrAPFBSKnk
He furthermore used to attend the Russian march. It’s an annual demonstration in which several Russian nationalist organizations take part. Many of them are neo-Nazis. Their slogan is “Russia for ethnic Russians”. People are saying that he did the Hitler salute there as well.
In 2008, Russia attacked Georgia, which is located in the Caucasus, and we are once more able to see a side of Navalny that many people are less familiar with. He not only says that he supports the Russian troops fully. He expresses the desire to fire missiles at the enemies himself, whom he referres to as грызуны "grysuny" (rodents), instead of грузины "grusiny" (Georgians).
Later on, Navalny apologizes for his position on Russia’s war against Georgia, but many people find this insufficient. Kornely Kakachia (Political Science Professor at Tbilisi State University), notes that the Georgian public felt betrayed after the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. Despite expectations for Navalny to be anti-Putin and anti-imperialist, he supported the invasion.
Navalny began to uncover Putin's corrupt system shortly after that.
In 2016 (Navalny is 40 years old) he decides to take part in the 2018 presidential elections. This is less than 10 years after his extremely xenophobic videos, which are not that often being talked about.
The media almost exclusively deals with Navalny’s fight against Putin.
My social media is flooded with news about Navalny at the moment and it is all positive things that people have to say about him. Almost no one deals with his past. There is a petition to rename the Behrenstraße in Berlin (close to the Russian Embassy) to Navalny Street. That makes no sense to me. The Germans, who are more than cautious about their past and completely reject extreme right-wing ideology are now considering taking such a step?
Here is the link to the petition (I would not sign it though).
https://www.change.org/p/die-behrenstra%C3%9Fe-in-berlin-in-alexej-nawalny-stra%C3%9Fe-umbenennen
Doesn’t a person's not-too-distant political past have to be taken into account before praising him to the skies and naming streets after him?
Political scientists like Sebastian Hoppe say, that Navalny is more of an opportunist. He has a certain flexibility when it comes to his political agenda, and he has chosen a topic that all political groups can agree on. The fight against corruption.
Navalny represented something new. However, in my opinion, one must also ask oneself whether this new thing that he represented is good without exception.
Sebastian Hoppe furthermore says, that Navalny has managed to build an opposition movement. He is pragmatic. He has managed to bring together different political currents with a large dose of populism and nationalist ideas.
After Navalny was poisoned, an investigative journalist named Christo Grozev finds out who poisoned him, and is able to trace it back to Putin. Navalny is at the brink of death, has proof of whom intended to kill him, but still decides to go back to Russia. Christo Grozev asked Yulia (Navalny’s wife) if she understands her husband’s decision to go back to Russia. Her answer was “of course I do. If he wants and hopes to be president one day, he has to take the same risks as the average Russian.”
If I wanted to be president, I would also attack the establishment and expose their wrongdoings. But if the world then only looks at the wrongdoings of those in power and I get away with mine, then that is very narrow-minded in my eyes.
The question that remains is if his political views had changed. Did he still have the same opinion about Caucasians? Did he still support the phrase “Russia for ethnic Russians”?
One can only make assumptions and you can't look into people's heads, but I personally do not think that he had changed his mind significantly.
This is it for today, rest in peace Alexei Navalny, my condolences to your friends and family, being anti-Putin doesn’t imply being pro-democratic, anti-war, and a liberal leader, don’t just follow the mainstream, and as always, much love.
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