Anticipated to perish in confinement, according to predictions, is navalny.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, confined in a Russian prison, anticipated his impending demise, as suggested by excerpts from his posthumous memoirs released in The New Yorker last Friday. Penning down in his prison diary in March 2022, Navalny stated, "The remainder of my life will be spent in prison, where I will eventually perish. No one will be there to bid me farewell."
A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Navalny tragically passed away in a Russian Arctic prison camp on February 16 this year, while serving a 19-year sentence. His death has been attributed to the Russian administration and President Putin by his supporters and various international politicians.
Navalny's diary entries, a compilation in his upcoming posthumous memoir titled "Patriot," will be available for readers on October 22. In an entry penned on January 17, 2022, he wrote, "The only thing to fear is our homeland succumbing to a band of liars, thieves, and hypocrites."
Navalny described a typical day in another entry from July 1, 2022. Waking up at 6:00 AM, breakfast at 6:20 AM, and commencing work at 6:40 AM were part of his routine. He elaborated, "In the workplace, you spend hours tethered to a stool at a low table, sewing. Upon completion of work, you are seated on a wooden bench below a portrait of Putin for extended hours, a form of punishment they called 'disciplinary activity'."
Navalny began drafting his memoirs following a 2020 poisoning incident that necessitated his hospitalization in Berlin for several months. Upon medical recovery, he returned to Russia, where he was apprehended and jailed for 19 years.
The last diary entry from Navalny, published by The New Yorker, is dated January 17, 2024. In this entry, he addressed the inquisitions of his fellow prisoners regarding his decision to return to Russia. He replied, "I was unwilling to abandon my country or betray it. If our convictions hold any significance, we must be prepared to defend them and, if necessary, endure sacrifices."
The European Union, along with numerous international political bodies, has expressed concern over the treatment and eventual death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny while in custody. Despite facing a 19-year sentence in a Russian prison, Navalny remained hopeful that his writings, such as his posthumous memoir, would inspire change within The European Union and other global democracies.
