How dead Navalny can kill Putin

YOO JEE-HYE
The author is the head of the diplomatic and security news team of the JoongAng Ilbo.

Alexei Navalny — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most threatening political opponent and dissident activist — died on February 16. It is shocking, but not unexpected. Perhaps his fate was sealed when he returned to Russia, refusing to seek asylum in a third country after miraculously surviving a poisoning attempt. But why did he return to Russia?

Navalny seems to have found the question a bit annoying after being asked repeatedly. Even his prison guards asked him, with a recording device off, why he returned to Russia when he would face “certain imprisonment and possible death?” Navalny answered, “I don’t want to give up either my country or my beliefs. If your beliefs are worth something, you must be willing to stand up for them. And if necessary, make some sacrifices.”

Neil MacFarquhar, former Moscow bureau chief of the New York Times who covered Navalny a number of times, delivered the answer. He compared Navalny’s return to a classical Greek tragedy. “The hero, knowing that he is doomed, returns home anyway because, well, if he didn’t, he would not be the hero,” MacFarquhar wrote.

The journalist also reported that Navalny had the motto, “There was no reason to fear the authoritarian government of President Vladimir V. Putin.” Instead, Navalny was afraid he would “sink into irrelevancy in exile.” To him, politics was about action, and returning to Russia was natural for him.

Navalny never stopped acting. Whenever he appeared in the court via video while imprisoned and through social media, he sharply criticized Putin. The day before his death, Navalny cynically told the judge to supplement his prison account with his salary.

If Putin was indeed involved in Navalny’s death, as the West claims, the dissident’s composed attitude must have provoked something from Putin. As MacFarquhar mentioned, the example of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela emerging as a hero after decades of imprisonment troubled Putin. As the tyrant rules by fear, he could not but be afraid if he meets someone who does not fear any suppression.

If Putin’s intention was to remove his opponent completely, he got it wrong. Because Navalny died, he rose to the ranks of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. Several figures are already being mentioned as “post-Navalny” opposition leaders.

Navalny became the symbol of courage, and Putin’s fear has been revealed to the world. Considering the bravery and confidence Navalny showed during his lifetime, he was surely convinced that he would be able to take down Putin even after his death.