Alexei Navalny Murdered by Vladimir Putin

I woke up and saw the news that Alexei Navalny was murdered in prison. By far, he was Putin’s most ardent critic and he was imprisoned because of that. It’s something most Americans, thankfully, cannot fully process or understand: Being sentenced to life in prison because you oppose the country’s leader.

Of course it’s an authoritarian tale as old as time, but this week alone we had the former president and current presidential candidate actively cheering for Russia to attack our allies and Tucker Carlson filming himself in a Russian supermarket telling us how wonderful it is and using it as an example of how the Russian government takes care of its citizens. [I do need to point out the grocery chain he visited, Auchan, is French-owned and only in major metropolitan areas which making it inaccessible to the one in five Russians who do not have access to indoor plumbing.]

I know the current Republican party is a cult. I know they have been radicalized by far-right news outlets who have poisoned them with nonsense. I know they lionize the enemies of freedom and celebrate tyrannical murderers. I still cannot believe we are here. I cannot believe it.

A friend just messaged me saying she will never understand why Navalny returned to Russia knowing he would be sent to prison. Navalny returned because he was courageous. He wanted to show his fellow Russians and the world that 140 million Russians are worth one man sacrificing his life so they might one day know freedom from tyranny. Alexei Navalny would not have been safe no matter where he lived and by returning to Russia he, like Boris Nemtsov before him, will continue to expose Putinism long after his death.

I have many more thoughts but now is not the time. Alexei Navalny’s courage deserves to be celebrated today. May his memory be a blessing.