ALEXEI NAVALNY has reportedly died in a Russian prison. It has not yet been confirmed by his family, but if true, this is a tremendous loss not only for his family but for the Russian people and all those who treasure freedom and civil liberties.
According to Reuters, Navalny’s mother said he had been “alive, healthy and happy” when she last saw him on Feb 12. They also report that the 47-year-old Putin critic appeared fine and even cheerful as he gave testimony by videolink on Thursday and joked with the judge.
There have been only a handful of people in history with the level of courage and commitment that Navalny demonstrated throughout his life. He didn’t have to go back to Russia, yet he chose to, even after they tried to kill him, even after everything they did to break him.
PogoWasRight sends our condolences to his wife Yulia and their children Daria and Zahar. Yulia was at the Munich Security Conference when the news broke and rather than rush to her children, she said she asked herself what Alexei would want her to do, and so she stayed at the conference and spoke of the future and how Russia will be punished for what it has done — to her husband and to the people of Russia.
May his memory be a blessing.
And may his memory be a revolution.