The example of Navalny, two years later
Although Donald Trump has often been the focus of international public attention lately, we cannot forget Russian President Vladimir Putin, a far more shadowy figure than his American counterpart, since he governs a country without the democratic checks and balances of the United States. Russian prisons are full of dissidents, and every day there are reports of the closure of NGOs or organizations that, for whatever reason, are inconvenient for the regime. And all this is without mentioning the thousands of Russians who die daily on the Ukrainian front simply because of the imperial delusions of the Kremlin's occupant.
Among all the opposition figures who have stood up to Putin, Alexei Navalny stands out. He was murdered two years ago while serving a prison sentence. An investigation by the British, Swedish, French, German, and Dutch governments, analyzing remains of his body, concluded that Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin found in poison dart frogs from South America. Poisoning, by the way, is one of the specialties of the Russian secret services since the KGB era.
Putin is not only an authoritarian leader, but he governs a murderous regime that does not tolerate dissent and where democracy is merely a facade devoid of real substance. Putin is, surely, what Trump would like to be: a dictator with no limits other than his own moral compass. That said, they both share a contempt for Europe and its liberal democracies and a fascination with a very masculine way of understanding power. They also both share the idea that Europe should remain a small group of divided countries governed by politicians of their ilk, like Hungary's Viktor Orbán, whom Marco Rubio visited this Monday to give him a boost ahead of the April elections.
In this context, Navalny's example and legacy should be very much on the minds of European foreign ministries, which are once again debating whether or not it is possible to negotiate with Putin. The Russian opposition leader was very aware of the future that awaited him, which is why he recorded a documentary that chronicles his last days of freedom in Europe before returning to Russia and being arrested. His aim was to raise awareness, both inside and outside Russia, and to send a clear message: do not trust Putin. And his murder is stark proof that Putin only understands the language of force and violence. Perhaps that is why he is so fixated on a war, the one in Ukraine, that has already lasted longer than what the Russians call the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) against the Nazis.
We can anticipate what Navalny would think of Trump by reading the opinions of another illustrious Russian opposition figure, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who rightly denounces the MAGA movement as the perfect ally of the Russian autocrat. Therefore, honoring Navalny's memory means placing oneself on the opposite side of history from figures like Trump and Putin.
