Alexei Navalny, the most prominent critic of Vladimir Putin, died in a remote Arctic prison in February
Late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny believed he would die in prison, according to excerpts from his memoir. The New Yorker magazine published these snippets on Friday, ahead of the release of Patriot on October 22.
Navalny was President Vladimir Putins most prominent critic and campaigned tirelessly against corruption in Russia.
He passed away in a remote Arctic prison in February while serving a 19-year sentence for various charges, including running an extremist group, which he claimed were politically motivated. After recovering from a nerve agent poisoning in Germany, which he attributed to the Kremlin, he was jailed upon his return to Russia in 2021 and received three prison sentences.
Russian officials have strongly denied any involvement in both the poisoning and his death. Publisher Alfred A Knopf announced Patriot in April, describing it as the late politicians “final letter to the world.”
Alexei Navalny knew he would never be released from prison (Image:AFP via Getty Images)
According to Knopf, Navalny started writing the book while recuperating from the poisoning and continued to do so in Russia, both inside and outside prison. In the memoir, Navalny shared how he coped with imprisonment by imagining the worst possible outcome and accepting it.
For him, this meant dying in prison. “I will spend the rest of my life in prison and die here,” he wrote on March 22, 2022.
“There will not be anybody to say goodbye to … All anniversaries will be celebrated without me. Ill never see my grandchildren.”
Although he had come to terms with his fate, Navalny’s memoir is a testament to his unwavering opposition to corruption in Russia. “My approach to the situation is certainly not one of contemplative passivity. I am trying to do everything I can from here to put an end to authoritarianism (or, more modestly, to contribute to ending it),” he penned on March 22, 2022.
Alexei Navalny knew he would never be released from prison (Image:AFP via Getty Images)
In a poignant excerpt from January 17, 2024, just a month before his passing, Navalny addressed the burning question from inmates and guards: “Why did you come back? ” His response was firm: “I dont want to give up my country or betray it. If your convictions mean something, you must be prepared to stand up for them and make sacrifices if necessary,” he declared. Navalny’s writings not only reflect the solitude and adversity of his confinement but also showcase his sense of humor.
Alexei Navalny knew he would never be released from prison (Image:AFP via Getty Images)
He detailed a bet with his legal team about the duration of his new sentence: “Olga reckoned eleven to fifteen years. Vadim surprised everyone with his prediction of precisely twelve years and six months. I guessed seven to eight years and was the winner.”
He even found irony in being forced to sit for “hours on a wooden bench under a portrait of Putin” as a form of “disciplinary activity.”
Alexei Navalny knew he would never be released from prison (Image:AFP via Getty Images)
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Navalny, released a statement in April through the publisher. She said that the book was not just a testament “to Alexeis life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship,” She added that sharing his story would ” inspire others to stand up for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that truly matter.”
She also said that the memoir had already been translated into 11 languages and would “definitely” be published in Russian.