In a memoir published eight months after he died in prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny never loses faith that his struggle is worth suffering, although he admits he wishes he could have written a very different book.
"It is a hodgepodge of parts and fragments, a traditional narrative accompanied by a prison diary," Navalny writes in the book "Patriot", which was published on Tuesday, and indeed, it is a traditional narrative accompanied by a prison diary.
"I really don't want my book to be another prison diary. I personally find them interesting to read, but as a genre - there are enough of them".
The last 200 pages of Navalny's 479-page book have, in some ways, characteristics of other prison diaries or classic Russian literature such as Alexander Solzhenitsyn's A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. He follows the boredom, isolation, exhaustion, suffering and absurdity of prison life, while digressing on everything from 19th century French literature to Billie Eilish.
However, "Patriot" is also a kind of testimony about the famous dissident's extraordinary fight against despair as the Russian authorities gradually intensify the repression against him, and even shares advice on how to face the worst and not lose hope.
"It is important not to torture yourself with anger, hatred, fantasy of revenge, but immediately move to acceptance. This can be difficult," he writes. "The process that goes on in your head is by no means simple, but if you find yourself in a bad situation, you should try it. It works, as long as you think about it seriously."
In recent years, Navalny has become an international symbol of resistance. A lawyer by training, he started out as an anti-corruption fighter, but soon turned into a politician with ambitions for public office and eventually became the main opponent of long-time Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalny, oversaw the completion of the book. In an interview to mark the release of "Patriot," she told the BBC that she would run for president if she ever returned to Russia -- unlikely with Putin in power, Navalnya admitted. A warrant has been issued for her arrest in Russia on charges of links to an extremist group.
"I dream that as many people as possible read this book, because it seems that everyone will learn something new about Alexei. Everyone will laugh and cry a little. He was so great: strong and brave, kind and witty. The best. And the most beloved," she posted. is Yulija Navalny
"Putin needs to be in a Russian prison, to feel everything that not only my husband felt, but what all the prisoners in Russia feel," Navalnya said on CBS' "60 Minutes."
Yulia Navalnya promised to continue her husband's fight. She regularly makes video addresses to her supporters and meets with Western leaders and senior officials, advocating for the rights of Russians who oppose Putin and his war in Ukraine.
Her late husband, with whom she has two children, wrote in the book about the attraction he immediately felt towards her and their lasting connection. He describes his wife as a kindred spirit with whom "he can discuss the most difficult issues without much drama and lamentation".
During the first part of the book, Navalny reflects on the fall of the Soviet Union, his disillusionment with Russia's 1990s leader Boris Yeltsin, his early struggles against corruption, his entry into public life, and the discovery that he didn't have to look far to find a politician "who would take on everything kinds of necessary, interesting projects and directly cooperated with the Russian people." "I wished and waited, and one day I realized that I could be that person," he wrote.
His vision of a "beautiful Russia of the future", where leaders are freely and fairly elected, corruption is curbed and democratic institutions function - as well as his strong charisma and cynical humor - have won him wide support across the country's 11 time zones.
He had young, energetic activists by his side—a team that, according to his memoirs, resembled a "Pomodarian startup" rather than a covert revolutionary operation. "From the outside, we looked like a bunch of Moscow hipsters," he writes, and together they released striking, professionally produced videos exposing official corruption. Those videos had millions of views on YouTube and sparked mass protests, even as authorities stepped up repression.
The authorities responded to Navalny's growing popularity by indicting him, his associates, and even family members. They often arrested him and closed his entire political infrastructure - the Foundation for the fight against corruption, which he founded in 2011, and a network of several dozen regional offices.
In 2020, Navalny survived nerve agent poisoning blamed on the Kremlin, which has denied involvement. In the book, he describes it in detail at the very beginning, recounting: "This is too much, and I'm dying." His family and allies fought to have him transferred to Germany for treatment, and after recovering there for five months, he returned to Russia, only to be arrested and sent to prison, where he would spend the last three years of his life.
In his memoirs, Navalny recalls how he told his wife, while he was still hospitalized in Berlin, that "of course" he would return to Russia.
In the messages he managed to send from prison, Navalny described the terrible conditions in solitary confinement, where he was held for months for various minor offenses that prison officials constantly accused him of, lack of sleep, poor nutrition and lack of medical care. In October 2023, three of his lawyers were arrested and two were put on the wanted list.
In December 2023, authorities transferred Navalny to the highest-security prison colony in the Russian penal system, in a remote city above the Arctic Circle. In February 2024, 47-year-old Navalny died suddenly there; the circumstances and cause of his death still remain a mystery. Yulia Navalny and his allies claim the Kremlin killed him, while authorities say Navalny died of "natural causes" but would not reveal any details about what happened.
Tens of thousands of Russians attended his funeral on the outskirts of Moscow in March, a rare show of resistance in a country where any street demonstration or even individual gatherings often result in arrests and imprisonment. For days afterward, people brought flowers to his grave.
"I dream that as many people as possible read this book, because it seems that everyone will learn something new about Alexei. (Everyone) will laugh a little and cry a little. He was so great: strong and brave, kind and witty. The best. And the dearest, " Yulija Navalnya announced on the X network.
Navalny's team announced that the book will be available in Russian, in which it was written, but that delivery to his homeland and neighboring Belarus will not be possible "because we cannot guarantee delivery and the absence of problems at customs."
The Kremlin and Russian state media ignored the publication of the book, just as they have ignored many other developments involving Navalny, whose name Putin and other senior officials almost never utter in public.
Translation: NB
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