by Alexei Navalny, 2024, translated by Arch Tait with Stephen Dalziel
Memoir written by one brave man who tried to bring truth to Russia in the last 25 years. He was murdered by Putin for his efforts. He was too popular, spreading truth, revealing the lies and corruption of Putin. He loved his country and decided to go back to it after being poisoned with a nerve agent by Putin. He could have stayed away and lived (perhaps), but he had to go back. He was arrested in the airport in Russia in January 2021 and taken from one prison to another for 3 years, until he was murdered in prison in Siberia in 2024. He wrote most of this memoir in the hospital in Germany where he recovered after being poisoned. The last quarter of the memoir are his Instagram posts and his prison diaries, which he managed to smuggle out to his lawyers, when he was allowed to meet with them.
He grew up the child of a Russian army man. He loved to blow things up! He and his friends would find the unused ammo soldiers would sink in the river (rather than go through the headache of returning them). They’d use them to make bombs and blow things up.
His first inkling of the lies the government told were right after Chernobyl. His grandparents lived in a village in Ukraine near Chernobyl. He loved visiting them. There were farms and growing things and beauty. “On April 26, 1986, at half past one in the morning, this paradise was destroyed when an explosion occurred in the fourth nuclear reactor of the Chernobyl power station. For the rest of the world it was a major nuclear disaster. For the U.S.S.R. it was one of the reasons for the collapse of a country already struggling under the economic crisis of “fully developed socialism.” For the Ukrainian branch of our family it was a terrible tragedy that swept their old life away. For me, it was the first event, the first lesson in my life, that had a formative impact on my outlook. The radiation might be far away, but the hypocrisy and lies inundated the whole country.”
After Chernobyl, the U.S.S.R. government said it was caused by saboteurs from America. Everyone eventually learned it was caused by faulty design, haphazard safety protocols, and an ignorant (maybe drunk) Russian employee. But the government made the people in the lovely Ukrainian village go farm in fields nearby to make it look like it wasn’t as bad a disaster as it really was. In the nearby Ukrainian town of Kiev, they allowed a May Day parade to go on as planned. “The health of tens of thousands of people was sacrificed in the cause of a grand cover-up that was ridiculous, because the radioactive fallout was so extensive it was registered by laboratories all over the globe.”
Page 35: “The question most puzzling even to my ten-year-old self was why the authorities were lying like this when everybody around me knew the truth…Describing the way the Soviet Union worked, Vasily Shukshin, a Russian writer, memorably said, “Lies, lies, lies…Lies as redemption, lies as atonement for guilt, lies as a goal achieved, lies as a career, as prosperity, as medals, as an apartment…Lies! The whole of Russia was covered with lies, like a scab.”
He gives a history of the Russian leaders, Gorbachev and then Boris Yeltsin. Gorbachev, it turns out, was a good, honest man, but Navalny didn’t realize that until later. Gorbachev made a mistake trying to get the Russian people to stop drinking. He forever lost them because of that. Boris Yeltsin, it turns out, was a corrupt alcoholic. All he cared about was getting his drink, every day, starting at noon.
Navalny ended up going to law school and then investigating corruption in oil and gas companies. Turns out the leaders of these companies were raking in millions, buying villas, yachts, luxury cars. He sued the companies and publicized the corruption. He filmed them with their mistresses in their villas and on their yachts, including Putin’s Palace, and eventually started a YouTube channel. He decided to try and run for office – starting with mayor of Moscow. Of course, he lost. But he continued to work at spreading the truth, revealing lies and corruption. Eventually, he decided to run for President against Putin. He never got the chance. Putin decided Navalny had to go. He had him poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent, on August 20, 2020. Navalny survived. He was allowed to be taken to a German hospital, where he spent 5 months recovering. When he had recovered, he had to go back. People asked him over and over again, Why did you go back? He had to. He was passionate about his mission. As soon as he landed, he was arrested in the airport and spent the rest of his life (3 years) in prisons, on one bogus charge after another, and murdered in prison in the far north of Russia.
Dear God, How long will the wicked prosper? So much injustice and harm done to so many people for so long. They live in near-poverty, with no hope, and with endless lies and propaganda, while one man (Vladimir Putin) and his select few oligarchs life lives of luxury, telling lies every day, making it so they are in power for life, destroying Ukraine, robbing and stealing from the people they are to serve. They are storing up wrath for themselves, I know that Lord. Please be with the people of Russia. Help them find a way to rise up and destroy the corrupt government they have and raise a democratic, free, uncorrupt government in its place. Please, dear God, save us from becoming like Russia. We have a leader (Trump) who is lying to us daily, who admires the strong man, who is trying to eliminate our free press, who is taking away liberties, destroying our country, enacting revenge on all of his enemies, and making a few men even richer and more powerful. Save us from him, Lord God! I pray this, asking you to forgive me and have mercy on me and our nation. Amen and amen – come, Lord Jesus, come!
The beautiful thing about Navalny is that he is in heaven now, with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He started to become a Christian (after being an avowed atheist) when his first child, Daria, was born. Here is the last paragraph and a half of the book:
“…But are you a disciple of the religion whose founder sacrificed himself for others, paying the price for their sins? Do you believe in the immortality of the soul and the rest of that cool stuff? If you can honestly answer yes, what is there left for you to worry about? Why, under your breath, would you mumble a hundred times something you read from a hefty tome you keep in your bedside table? Don’t worry about the morrow, because the morrow is perfectly capable of taking care of itself.
“My job is to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and leave it to good old Jesus and the rest of his family to deal with everything else. They won’t let me down and will sort out all my headaches. As they say in prison here: they will take my punches for me.”
Thank you, God, for Alexei Navalny and that he is with you in heaven. Guard and protect his wife and his family, his lawyers. Update: His lawyers are now in prison on false charges and with new charges and time adding up. Somehow, someway, save Russia from Putin and save us from becoming like Russia. Amen.
Page 240: “There are twenty people who’ve become billionaires who control everything, from state procurement to the sale of oil.”
Page 258: “Shortly before we published our video [of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska on his yacht with a bunch of prostitutes and the current deputy prime minister of Russia, Sergei Prikhodko], Americans read about how the head of Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters, Paul Manafort, had received millions of dollars from Deripaska in return for telling him what was going on in Trump’s campaign.”
Page 270: “I will always remember a conversation I had with Boris Nemtsov ten days before he was murdered. There were three of us there, Nemtsov, his colleague, and me, and Nemtsov explained that I was in danger. The Kremlin could easily kill me because I was an outsider. But he, Nemtsov, was invulnerable, because he was an insider; he was a former deputy prime minister and, what’s more, knew Putin personally and had worked with him for many years. Three days later, I was arrested. And just a week after that, Nemtsov was shot dead two hundred meters from the Kremlin. I then understood that all of these conversations about who was in danger and who was safe were pointless. We have no idea what’ll happen next. There’s one specific madman named Vladimir Putin. And sometimes something twists in his brain, he writes a name down on a piece of paper and says, “Kill him.””
Page 271: “But one day I simply made the decision not to be afraid. I weighed everything up, understood where I stand–and let it go. I’m an opposition politician and understand perfectly who my enemies are, but if I were to worry constantly about them killing me, then it’s not worth my while living in Russia. I should either emigrate or change what I do.
“But I love what I do and think that I should keep doing it. I’m not crazy, nor am I irresponsible or fearless. It’s simply that deep down I know I have to do this, that this is my life’s work. There are people who believe in me. There’s my organization, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, and there’s my country, and I desperately want it to be free. Yes, there are threats, but they’re a part of my work and I accept them.
“I do worry greatly about my wife and children. And the thought fills me with dread that Novichok could be put on my door handle and that my son or my daughter could touch the door handle.”
Page 273: “When Zakhar was in primary school, the children were asked to say what their parents did. Some children answered, “My daddy’s a doctor” or “My mommy’s a teacher.” But Zakhar said, “My daddy is fighting against bad people for the future of our country.” When I was told this, it was the greatest moment of my life. It was if they had hung a medal on me.
“I don’t think in a particular way about the love for my country. I just love it. For me, Russia is one of the components from which I’m made. It’s like your right arm or your left leg; you can’t describe how you like them.”
Page 274-275: “The biggest mistake people in the West make about Russia is that they equate the Russian state with the Russian people. In reality, the two have nothing in common, and the greatest misfortune in our country is that out of all the millions who live here, time and again power ends up in the hands of the most cynical and the biggest liars. There’s a popular saying that every nation has the government it deserves, and many people believe that this applies to Russia. Otherwise, surely, our people would have risen up and overthrown the regime. But I don’t believe this is true. A huge number of my fellow citizens don’t agree with what’s going on and didn’t choose it. But if you accept that, nonetheless, personal responsibility lies on the shoulders of each of us, then it lies on my shoulders, too. So it’s up to me to fight even harder to change things.
“If you were to ask me whether I hate Vladimir Putin, my answer would be, yes, I hate him, but not because he tried to kill me or put my brother in prison. I hate Putin because he has stolen the last twenty years from Russia. These could have been incredible years, the sort of period that we’ve never had in our history. We had no enemies. We had peace on all our borders. The price of oil, gas, and our other natural resources was incredibly high. We earned huge amounts from our exports. Putin could have used these years to turn Russia into a prosperous country. All of us could have lived better.
“Instead, twenty million people live below the poverty line. Part of the money Putin and his cronies simply stole; part of it was squandered. They did nothing good for our country, and that is their worst crime against our children and the country’s future. I’m afraid that we’ll never again have such a well-fed, peaceful, and happy period, and I cannot but feel regret for this and hatred for those who stole from us the possibility of enjoying it.
“The symbol of my convictions is the Beautiful Russia of the Future I mentioned above. I believe that we could be a normal country, a rich one, governed by the rule of law. Above all, the main point is that this Beautiful Russia is the normal one.
“Let’s start with the idea that we stop killing people. Let’s fight against corruption. Yes, it exists in Europe and the United States too, but if we at least lower the current wild level of it in our country then we will suddenly find that we have money for education and health care. We’ll understand that we can have independent courts and honest elections. Throughout our history we have had tsars, then emperors, then general secretaries, then presidents, and all of them have been authoritarian. We can’t go on like that.
“Our task lies in breaking this vicious circle, as a result of which time and again, whoever’s in power, it turns into authoritarianism. The president’s powers must be restricted; too much lies in his hands. Power should be divided among parliament and regional governors and mayors. Taxes that are collected in the regions should remain there, and not be sent to Moscow. But everything in Russia revolves around Moscow. The only source of power is the Kremlin, and specifically the office where the president sits. Such a huge country should never be governed like that.”
Page 276: “My story will continue, but whatever happens to me and my friends and allies in opposition, Russia has every possibility of becoming a prosperous, democratic country. This sinister regime, based on lies and corruption, is doomed. Dreams can become reality.
“The future is ours.”
Page 424-425, February 22, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine while Alexei was in prison. He watched Putin’s speech on Russian state news:
“Yesterday I watched, in a meeting of the Security Council of Russia, a collection of dotards and thieves (I think our Anti-Corruption Foundation investigated every one of them for corruption) and was reminded of just such a collection of highly placed dotards in the Politburo of the Communist Party’s Central Committee who, in much the same way, on a whim, imagining they were geopolitical players at the “great chessboard,” decided to send Soviet Troops into Afghanistan.
“That resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties, a traumatizing of nations, with consequences neither we nor Afghanistan can put behind us, and the emergence of one of the main reasons for the collapse of the U.S.S.R….
“Both groups needed just one thing: to distract the attention of the Russian people from the country’s real problems–lack of economic development, rising prices, rampant lawlessness–and redirect it toward imperial hysteria…
“Barefaced propaganda is no longer enough for the dotards and thieves. they thirst for blood…
“It would be funny, if only the drunken grandfather was not this sixty-nine-year-old who is clinging to power in a country with nuclear weapons. [Putin came to power at age 47 and is still in power now, at age 72. He’s rigged it so he can be in power until 2036 now, when he will be 84 years old.]
“Replace “Ukraine” in his speech with “Kazakhstan,” “Belarus,” “the Baltic republics,” “Azerbaijan,” “Uzbekistan,” including even “Finland.” Imagine where the geopolitical thinking of that senile grandfather will take him next. The decision in 1979 ended very badly for all concerned. and this decision will end no less badly. Afghanistan was ruined, but the U.S.S.R. was also dealt a mortal blow.
“Because of Putin, hundreds now, and in the future tens of thousands, of Ukrainians and Russian citizens will die. Yes, he will stop Ukraine from developing, he will drag it into the swamp, but Russia too will pay a high price.
“We have everything for massive twenty-first-century development, but we will again squander the historic opportunity of leading a rich, healthy life as a nation, in exchange for war, filth, lies, and a palace with golden eagles in Gelendzhik.
“Putin and his senile thieves in the Security Council and United Russia party are the enemies of Russia and the main threat to it. Not Ukraine. Not the West. Putin is a murderer and wants more killing. It is the Kremlin that is making you poorer, not Washington. It is not in London but in Moscow that economic policy is conducted in a way that means a pensioner’s food “shopping basket” has doubled in price.
“To fight for Russia, to save Russia, is to fight for the removal of Putin and his kleptocrats. But now that also means to fight for peace.”
Page 449-451, January 12, 2023, it’s been two years since he was arrested and put in prison. He’s now in SHIZO, which is solitary confinement. They put a madman in a cell across from him. This man is a lunatic and screams, growls, barks, and argues with himself – yelling for 14 hours a day and 3 hours a night every night for a month. Alexei asked for him to be removed but, of course, he was moved from another prison and placed across from Alexei on purpose. Alexei writes:
“This was all planned. Someone thought of this and implemented it at the regional or federal level. You can’t transfer a convict for no reason at all; there’s a rule about serving your whole term in one camp. So there was an order from above: put pressure on him. and the generals and colonels at lower levels held a meeting: So, how shall we put pressure on him? And someone wanting to distinguish himself said, We have a madman in such and such prison; he screams day and night. Let’s take him to Navalny.
“What a great idea, fellow officers. Comrade Colonel, proceed and report on it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that they took a raving madman from a prison hospital and declared him sane, just to keep him in a cell across from mine.
“The moral of this story is simple: The Russian prison system, the Federal Penitentiary Service, is run by a collection of perverts. Everything in their system has a sick twist: the infamous mop rapes, sticking things up people’s anuses, and so on. It wouldn’t occur to a bad-but-sane person to do such a thing. Everything you read about the horrors and fascist crimes of our prison system is true. There’s just one correction needed: the reality is even worse.”
Page 451-455:
January 17 [2023]: “…Our miserable, exhausted motherland needs to be saved. It has been pillaged, wounded, dragged into an aggressive war, and turned into a prison run by the most unscrupulous and deceitful scoundrels. Any opposition to this gang–even if only symbolic in my current limited capacity –is important.
“I said it two years ago, and I will say it again: Russia is my country. I was born and raised here, my parents are here, and I made a family here; I found someone I loved and had kids with her. I am a full-fledged citizen, and I have the right to unite with like-minded people and be politically active. There are plenty of us, certainly more than corrupt judges, lying propagandists, and Kremlin crooks.
“I’m not going to surrender my country to them, and I believe that the darkness will eventually yield. But as long as it persists, I will do all I can, try to do what is right, and urge everyone not to abandon hope.
“Russia will be happy!”
February 20 [2023]
Alexei writes 15 theses for Russians who desire the best for their country, on the 2nd anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine. Here’s a shortened version of the 15 points:
- President Putin unleashed this war against Ukraine under “ridiculous pretexts.” There are almost no volunteers to fight it so Putin is forcing convicts and “forcibly mobilized individuals.”
- Putin wants this war so he can be remembered as the “conqueror tsar” and “the gatherer of Russian lands.”
- “Tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians have been murdered, and pain and suffering have befallen millions more. War crimes have been committed. Ukrainian cities and infrastructure have been destroyed.”
- “Russia is suffering a military defeat. It was the realization of this fact that changed the rhetoric of the regime from claims that “Kiev will fall within three days” to hysterical threats of using nuclear weapons should Russia lose…”
- The borders between Russia and Ukraine were drawn in 1991. Wars should not be used to try and re-draw them. “Otherwise, the world will sink into chaos.”
- “Russia has to leave Ukraine alone and allow it to develop the way its people want. Stop the aggression, end the war, and withdraw all its troops from Ukraine. Continuation of this war is just hysteria caused by powerlessness…”
- “Together with Ukraine, the United States, the EU, and the UK, we have to look for acceptable ways to compensate for the damage done to Ukraine. One way to achieve this would be lifting the restrictions imposed on our oil and gas, but directing part of the income Russia receives from hydrocarbon exports toward reparations. This should only be done after a change of power in Russia and the end of the war.” [And now a change of power in America.]
- “War crimes committed during this war have to be investigated in cooperation with international institutions.”
- Russians aren’t inherently imperialistic. Look at Belarus – they are involved in the war against Ukraine. Why? They also have a dictator. Dictators need to be defeated in elections.
- Russia does not need new territories. It needs to preserve its people and develop what it already has in abundance.
- End the war as soon as possible and then untangle the mess, honestly and openly.
- …”reimburse Ukraine for all the damage caused by Putin’s aggression.”
- “We need to dismantle the Putin regime and its dictatorship, ideally through conducting free general elections and convoking a Constitutional Assembly.”
- “We need to establish a parliamentary republic based on the alternation of power through fair elections, independent courts, federalism, local self-governance, complete economic freedom, and social justice.”
- “Recognizing our history and traditions, we need to be part of Europe and follow the European path of development.”
On his entry for March 8, he writes about Lilia Chanysheva, an intelligent, strong, fearless woman for freedom in Russia. She, too, was arrested and sent to prison on false charges in 2021 but released in the Ankara prisoner exchange in 2024, where 26 prisoners were released in exchange for several Russian prisoners. Kamala Harris worked on the deal and it was to include Alexei Navalny, but he was murdered in prison on the first day of the negotiations, February 16, 2024. Then we requested Lilia to be one of the 26. I have no idea where she is now. I hope she is still free and still working for a free Russia.
On March 15, 2023, he writes about learning that “his” movie won an Oscar. “The Navalny documentary premiered in 2022; it followed Alexei’s poisoning and related events. It was awarded Best Documentary Feature at the ninety-fifth Academy Awards.” I wish the library had it. Amazon Prime has it, though.
June 19, 2023, in a secret trial designed to add even more years to his sentence: “…We must do what they fear–tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves, and hypocrites.”
August 4, 2023: “Nineteen years in a maximum-security penal colony. The number of years does not matter. I understand perfectly well that, like many political prisoners, I am serving a life sentence. Where “life” is defined by either the length of my life or the length of the life of this regime.”
On October 19, 2023, Alexei learns that his defense lawyers have been raided and arrested on false charges: Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin. “The persecution of my defense lawyers is clearly against the law and has only two purposes: (1) to retaliate against them for their outstanding work; (2) to threaten society and above all, the lawyers who dare to defend political prisoners.”
“…Every individual has the freedom to openly express their political beliefs.
“I express mine. I am against Vladimir Putin. I believe that he has illegally seized power. I believe that he is an illegitimate ruler and a promoter of corruption. I consider his entire team of accomplices to be criminals. They are crooks and thieves.
“I have consistently encouraged citizens in the past, and I am continuing to do so now: Whenever an opportunity arises, it is crucial to take action, express discontent, and vote against Putin and his United Russia party.
“This is not extremism but a legitimate fight against an illegitimate government.”
January 17, 2024: “Exactly three years ago, I came back to Russia after treatment following my poisoning. I was arrested at the airport. And for three years, I’ve been in prison.
“And for three years, I’ve been answering the same question.
“Prisoners ask it simply and directly.
“Prison officials inquire about it cautiously, with the recording devices turned off.
“Why did you come back?”
“Responding to this question, I feel frustrated in two ways. First, there’s a dissatisfaction with myself for failing to find the right words to make everyone understand and put an end to this incessant questioning. Second, there’s frustration at the political landscape of recent decades in Russia. This landscape has implanted cynicism and conspiracy theories so deeply in society that people inherently distrust straightforward motives. They seem to believe, If you came back, there must have been some deal you made. It just didn’t work out. Or hasn’t yet. There’s a hidden plan involving the Kremlin towers…
“But there are no secrets or twisted meanings. Everything really is that simple.
“I have my country and my convictions. I don’t 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….
“I took part in elections and vied for leadership positions. The call for me is different. I traveled the length and breadth of the country, declaring everywhere from the stage, “I promise that I won’t let you down, I won’t deceive you, and I won’t abandon you.” By coming back to Russia, I fulfilled my promise to the voters. There need to be some people in Russia who don’t lie to them….
“Those in power should change. The best way to elect leaders is through honest and free elections. Everyone needs a fair legal system. Corruption destroys the state. There should be no censorship.
“The future lies in these principles.
“But for the present, sectarians and marginals are in power. They have absolutely no ideas. Their only goal is to cling to power. Total hypocrisy allows them to wrap themselves in any cover. …
“Lies, and nothing but lies.
“It will crumble and collapse. The Putinist state is not sustainable.
“One day, we will look at it, and it won’t be there.
“Victory is inevitable.
“But for now, we must not give up, and we must stand by our beliefs.”