Blog#269- 1/3/25
NAVALNY AND THE MESSAGE FOR THE U.S.
By
Richard Davis
I have been reading Russian dissident Alexei Navalny’s memoir and the similarities between Russian and American politics are frightening. It’s no surprise to anyone in this country that we are living under a repressive regime that disrespects free speech and the rule of law. That is the case in many countries around the world today, but I believe most Americans never thought it could get this bad here.
As Navalny outlines political events during his short life, it becomes clear that Putin and Trump have a lot in common. They both are intolerant of any viewpoint not supporting them and they both will do anything to hold on to and increase the power and wealth they have.
When egomaniacal oligarchs assume power they are not satisfied simply bending their own people to their will. Their disease compels them to move to the next level. That means trying to take over countries beyond their borders and starting wars for no other reason than to give them more personal power.
As long as Putin is in power he will not stop trying to take over Ukraine. He will always keep his guns turned to any country he thinks he can conquer and that is why the NATO countries and the European Union are in constant fear of his lustful military aggression. Poland has instituted a military draft and other countries are considering building their military potential because of their fear of Putin.
Trump is using the same playbook because both men are operating at the same level of a maniacal lust for power. First it was Greenland. Trump seems to have backed off from that idea although he may not have given up entirely. He even had the balls to suggest that Canada become the 51st state. Not only did that create a long-term blow to U.S.-Canada relations, but it showed just how far Trump will go. It may have seemed laughable to most level-headed people, but Trump’s strategy is to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.
We know all too well how Trump creates situations that don’t really exist in order to justify most of his illegal actions. The attack on Venezuela is an example. Trump wants to have a war. It will allow him to seize territory and proclaim that he is the king of a world larger than the United States. The action in Venezuela constitutes an undeclared war. The U.S. has captured a country’s president and no one is stopping Trump from making the entire world less safe.
Navalny’s memoir provides not only insight into Russia, but gives Americans a chance to be warned about what we might have in store if we do not stop Trump now. He notes in his prison diary of January 17, 2022, “…Don’t be afraid of anything. This is our country and it’s the only one we have. The only thing we should fear is that we will surrender our homeland to be plundered by a gang of liars, thieves, and hypocrites. That we will surrender without a fight, voluntarily, our own future and the future of our children.”
This so-called dissident was still able to provide inspiration for dissent from prison. He never gave up because he loved his country and the Russian people. Most of us are not able to bring protest to the level that Navalny did, but we can learn the lessons he left for us. That is his legacy.
His words have power. “The only moments in our lives that count for anything are those when we do the right thing, when we don’t have to look down at the table but can raise our heads and look each other in the eye. Nothing else matters.”
