If we talk about the actions of the Kremlin after Navalny’s death, it should be noted that it could have been even more inhumane. This would surprise few. In other words, Navalny’s body could not be released to his relatives at all under some premeditated, even frankly absurd pretexts. Now that Navalny’s funeral and his grave have gained symbolic importance, Kiriyenko & Co. (Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy head of the presidential administration for domestic political issues) may even regret that they allowed this funeral in Moscow at all. Most likely, now with retrospect, they would have preferred to quietly bury Navalny in a prison beyond the Arctic Circle, defying all norms of human morality.
But the fact remains the fact. In Moscow, thousands of people flocked to the Borisovka cemetery on the far outskirts, and in the days that followed, people came to lay flowers and pay their respects to Putin’s beleaguered political enemy. As noted by Yekaterinburg’s former mayor Yevgenii Roizman, who was almost the only well-known person living in Russia to attend the funeral, Navalny will be canonized as a holy martyr very soon. This, of course, will be possible only after the fall of Putin’s regime. At the moment, the main question that observers around the world are asking is: will this assassination make Putin’s regime stronger or, on the contrary, weaker?
Evidence of premeditated murder is accumulating
At the same time, some other questions arise: Was Navalny killed deliberately and purposefully, or was he exhausted to death in prison? Is the statement by Navalny’s team true that an agreement has almost been reached to exchange Navalny for Vadim Krasikov, the murderer of Chechen freedom struggle activist Zelimkhan Hangoshvili, who is serving a life sentence in Germany? If such an exchange (with Putin’s message) was almost achieved, then why was Navalny killed anyway?
It can already be said that there are relatively reliable answers to all these questions. Was Navalny killed on purpose? Hristo Grozevs, one of the most authoritative greats of investigative journalism in the modern world, says yes in an interview with another connoisseur of the Kremlin’s political kitchen, Mikhail Zigar. The research group “Bellingcat” led by him is said to have already acquired the passenger lists of flights that have flown in this direction since December, when Navalny was transferred to a prison in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region. There are people among the passengers whose passport data matches cases related to poisoning in the past. Grozev promises to publish a detailed study later this month. That is, in March.
Has Navalny’s possible exchange with Krasikov really come to an end? Grozev, who was one of the organizers of this exchange, confirms the existence of such talks. As well as the fact that Putin was also informed about these negotiations. Grozev says that Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov knew 100% about these talks and there is a small probability that this information remained unknown to Putin. All the more so because the issue of Krasikov’s exchange has been so important to Putin that he also mentioned it without further question in the famous interview with Tucker Carlson.
Putin perceived the exchange as unacceptable
The next question arises – if Putin already knew about the possible exchange and Krasikov was so important to him, then why did he cut off this exchange by ordering the liquidation of Navalny? Grozev answers this question: Putin was said to have been extremely angry at the very possibility of exchanging Krasikov, a hero of Russia and, as Grozev notes, a veteran of such special liquidation operations (serial killer) for Navalny. According to Putin’s logic, such an exchange would not be equal. To exchange some “loha” Navalny for a person of the highest caste – Krasikova.
Grozev also substantiates this version with the fact that in the interview with Carlson, when mentioning Krasikova, Putin became furious, which rarely happens to him. He has not been able to hide his confusion, why the Americans did not want to exchange Krasikov for the US citizen, journalist arrested in Russia (captured hostage) Evan Geršković.
Putin’s expression was exactly the same as in a televised address on the first day after the invasion of Ukraine, when Putin could not hide his confusion as to why Ukrainian troops were not coming over to his side. “Shake off that Kiev junta, those Nazis and drug addicts, and we’ll come to an agreement with you quickly,” Putin called at the time. In the same way, he called on the Americans – give me Krasikov, and I will give you Gershkovich.
The fact that Krasikov is in custody in Germany, and not in the United States, does not change anything in Putin’s world, because in his understanding, Germany (like any other country) does not and cannot have its own position on any issue. All these countries obediently fulfill any instructions from Washington. Therefore, there could not be the slightest hesitation for the German authorities to easily exchange a life-sentenced serial killer for an American hostage captured in Russia.
German public opinion, and therefore the political class there, has a completely different vision. The only person Germany would be willing to talk about in such a swap might be Navalny. No one else is next to him in importance, but since such an exchange was not acceptable to Putin, according to the last logic, Navalny had to be eliminated as an object of exchange. Just to have such an option removed from the agenda forever. Navalny is mine, and I will not give him to anyone, that might be Putin’s logic.
Let’s return to the basic question: how will Navalny’s death affect the stability of the regime? In the short term, probably not, because the regime has tightened the screws so that thousands at the Borisovka cemetery are already an unexpectedly large demonstration of civic courage. I would like to remind those who criticize the people of Russia why they don’t protest and take to the streets that during the occupation on November 18, no one took even the smallest flower to the Freedom Monument. All these long decades. So there is no need to talk about other people’s courage in a situation where nothing threatens them.
Video: Get ready Wow, it’s gonna be shit
The long-term impact of Navalny’s killing on the regime is unclear. On the one hand, Putin clearly demonstrates that he has no moral boundaries and is ready for absolutely anything in the name of maintaining his power. That is, do not even hope for any loosening of the screws. It will only be tougher. I will crush everyone who dares to even beep.
On the other hand, the story of Navalny’s martyrdom has already acquired a completely biblical plot, and at a critical moment that can never be predicted in advance, Navalny as a symbol can play a decisive role in the fall of the regime. Further. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalny, is clearly ready to take over what her late husband started.
One can ask – what can she take over if the influence of the opposition outside Russia on the processes in Russia itself is extremely insignificant? That’s true, but Navalny’s widow could have a big impact on how Russia and its leaders are perceived in the world. In her speech in the European Parliament, she already called to stop perceiving Putin as a politician, but to perceive him as the leader of a bandit group.
In two weeks, the so-called elections will take place in Russia. Although there is no doubt that these “elections” will not be recognized as democratic in the West, it is quite possible that news channels such as the BBC or CNN will report these “election results” almost as if they were real. Despite the fact that these “results” will be fully “drawn” in the administration of the Russian president.
Not recognizing Putin as the legitimate president of Russia would be the first step to a broader change in understanding of the nature of Putin’s regime. The “normalization” of Putin’s policy after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 led to February 24, 2022. Further “acceptance” of him will only lead to the next critical dates. But nothing deters the world community from “normalizing” the regime as much as the assassination of its political opponents.
Therefore, there is no reason for Putin to celebrate the end of his enemy’s life. Rather the opposite. Footage from Navalny’s funeral can only remind Putin one more time that he has irrevocably gone down the road, at the end of which nothing good is expected. As the musicians of the group “Nogu svelo” sing in the video: “Мертвый Навальный scarier alive! Get ready Vova! Will ху…во!” (The dead Navalny is even scarier than the living one. Get ready, Vova, it’s going to suck!)
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2024-03-04 03:31:12
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