Stuck in a Russian penal colony for two-years-eight-months if he gets out alive, 44-year-old Russian dissident Alex Navalny watches his clandestine organization dismantled, dedicated to toppling 68-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. No matter what the backing from the U.S. or European Union, it won’t save Navalny from his fate from a Russian court Feb. 2, sentenced to a Russian penal colony. Navalny was foolish enough to think he could out-duel Putin, when he returned against all advice to Moscow Jan. 14 after recovering from Novichok poisoning in Germany for four months. But no, Navalny thought he had the international community behind him when he mistakenly returned to Moscow, only to get arrested, convicted and sentenced to a Russian penal colony. Since arriving March 2 to the IK-2 penal colony 100 kilometers east of Moscow, Navalny thought he’d beat the system.
Navalny’s followers promised nationwide protests, all to watch his dwindling following get arrested, now serving various jail sentences. Yet Navalny’s shenanigans continued complain about his lack of proper medical treatment. Now that that’s ended, Navaly can only hear from the grapevine that his organization has been all but dismantled. Russia’s Duma [lower house of parliament] crafted a bill to ban Navalny’s organization as an extremist group, preventing any of his followers from running for the Russian parliament. Navalny activists like Lyubol Sobol, who’s currently under house arrest, will be banned from running for office. Navalny’s organization has been systematically dismantled, all because Navalny had the temerity to take on Putin, only to find out who was in charge. Navalny ignored completely what happened to former oligarch Mikhail Khordorkovsky.
Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest oligarch owning the Yukos Oil Company, was convicted and sent to a Siberian prison in 2005. Khodorkovsky insulted and challenged Putin once too often, before he was charged with treason and income tax evasion, spending eight years in prison, until released in 2013 into exile in Switzerland, never to return to Russia again. Navalnmy thought he was different because had support from the U.S. and EU, only to find out it meant nothing. U.S. President Joe Biden and his 58-year-old Secretary of State Tony Blinken demanded Feb. 2 that Putin release Navalny from prison. Instead of getting his freedom, Navalny’s guaranteed he’ll serve out the balance of his sentence, unless he dies. Biden and European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen found out what happens when you meddle in Russia’s internal affairs.
Navalny’s anti-corruption network is now branded as an extremist group. Navalny never stuck to anti-corruption, he went a step further asking for Putin’s removal from office, something his followers sought. Calling the bill banning Navalny’s group “unconstitutional,” trying to ban her from office, Sobol has no power other than watching Navalny’s vast plans crumble before her eyes. Russian lawmakers Vasily Piskarev said the bill banning Navalny’s group was needed to stop extremists from overrunning the government. Piskarev said the bill was necessary “for propaganda and the justification of their ideas, as well as for the recruitment of new followers.” Putin pardoned Khordorkovsky in 2013 when he agreed to exile, conducting any resistance from foreign countries. Unlike Navalny, Khordorkovsky lives in London, continuing to slam Putin from afar.
Biden and Blinken wasted political capital on Navalny, demanding Putin release him from prison. All the demands from the West have consolidated Putin’s determination to dismantle Navalny’s nationwide network, capitalizing on youthful discontent around the country. Navalny’s chief of staff Leonid Volkov continues to make waves, suggesting like Navanly commands a vast democratic network seeking to overthrow Putin’s government. With the latest move in the Duma to ban Navalny’s organization, there’s not much hope left for a democratic revolution in Russia. Piskarev’s new bill makes Navalny’s anti-corruption group illegal in Russia, preventing any of its follower for running for public office. Putin wants to play a pivotal role in bringing Hamas and Israel together for a ceasefire. While neither country shows interest yet, it’s only a matter of time before they agree to ceasefire.
Navalny made a life-changing decision Jan. 14 when he returned to Moscow with the cosmic arrogance to think things would wind up with great fanfare. Rotting in a Russian penal colony, it’s too late un-ring the bell, watching himself in prison and his organization in shambles. Putin was especially irked knowing the Biden and Blinken supported Navalny, meaning they’d like to see him toppled from power. Declaring Navalny’s anti-corruption organization an extremists group, it’s not all that different from the U.S. Congress charging former President Trump with “incitement of insurrection,” impeaching the former president before his eventual acquittal. When it came to Navalny, the international community miscalculated the views of the ordinary Russians that still back Putin.over Navalny. Whether Navalny makes it out of prison or not, he’s done politically for the foreseeable future.
