News of the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday left many young Russians reeling from the loss of the person they described as their last hope for a liberal, democratic Russia.
Navalny, who first rose to prominence as an anti-corruption blogger, captured the attention of Russian liberals for leading the “White Ribbon” protests in 2011 against Vladimir Putin's decision to return to the presidency after serving six years as prime minister.
But it was Navalny's charisma, sarcastic sense of humor and stubborn refusal to seek exile outside Russia that helped him win over a group of young, liberal-minded Russians.
Prison authorities reported that Navalny (47 years old) died in a remote penal colony in the Arctic after he collapsed after walking. News of the opposition leader's death has drawn attention around the world. President Joe Biden was quick to blame Putin, and the Russian leader warned that the United States was exploring the consequences.
Although Navalny has never won a political election, his allies and supporters have often insisted that if he escapes prison and outlives Putin's regime, he could become president and set the country on a very different political path.
Preparing for elections: Find out who's running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our voter guide
His death, exactly one month before Russia's 2024 presidential election, has shattered the aspirations of a generation that never had the opportunity to cast a vote for Navalny.
“Symbol of childish courage”
Dasha, a Russian college student studying in Los Angeles, said she plans to return to Russia in the summer to visit her family. She now feels a “sense of fear” about the upcoming trip.
Dasha and other Russian nationals interviewed by USA TODAY agreed to speak on the condition that they be identified only by their first name because of fears of retaliation against them and their family members back home.
“This reaffirms the harsh reality that my parents warned me about,” Dasha said. “Returning to a country led by individuals willing to resort to murder is unacceptable.”
Navalny was serving several prison sentences, including a more recent 19-year sentence on “extremism” charges for which he was sentenced in August. He had been imprisoned since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow a few months after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in a failed assassination attempt.
“What happened to Navalny is further evidence of Putin’s brutality,” Biden said during a press conference on Friday. “No one should be fooled.”
Yana, 21, decided to leave her hometown in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Now in Israel, Yana said she rarely thought about returning to her homeland, but when she did it was always because of Navalny.
“He was a symbol of childlike courage,” she said.
“I was always thinking: If Lesha becomes president, I might think about coming back,” Yana added, referring to Navalny by diminutive of his first name.
“A beacon of hope for Russia's future”
Dasha said she considered Navalny “the last courageous voice standing in a landscape of fear and oppression.”
“Navalny symbolized a beacon of hope for me and for Russia’s future,” she added.
Matthew, a recent university graduate who lives in Moscow, said in Russian that he and others his age view Navalny as “the most visible example of open dissent in modern Russia.”
While news of Navalny's death did not immediately spark massive public protests in Russia's largest cities — likely due to repressive laws banning protests — videos circulating on Telegram, a social media channel, showed hundreds of people in major cities laying flowers. On temporary memorials. In honor of Navalny.
Some video clips also showed Russian police officers arresting some mourners. Russian police detained about 100 people in eight cities as they tried to lay flowers and attend various vigils related to Navalny's death as of Saturday, according to OVD-Info, an independent human rights group and information service based in Moscow that focuses on political affairs. Persecution in Russia.
Matthew said that while he is still personally struggling to deal with Navalny's death, when “the realization comes, the reality of his death is depressing, it takes away hope, it puts you in a daze.”
However, Matthew said that Russians like him would not give up on their dreams of political change in Russia.
“Navalny says that in the event of his death we must not lose hope,” Matthew said, referring to a 2022 documentary about Navalny’s recovery from the assassination attempt.
He added: “Hope lives in all of us.” “We must take care of our family and friends, engage in our personal development, never run away from somewhere but follow the goal – as Navalny did.”
“We all have to believe”
The future of the opposition in Russia was uncertain even before Navalny's death, as other opposition figures have been exiled outside the country or imprisoned and in poor health, such as Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Kara-Murza was convicted of treason and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Kara-Murza, who survived two poisoning attempts that he blamed on the Kremlin, was arrested and jailed shortly after he condemned the Russian invasion in a March 2022 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives.
But while public figures and ordinary Russians alike said Navalny's death was a major setback, it may not mean the end of the opposition movement to Putin, who is expected to declare victory in next month's elections.
“We will not give up,” Mikhail Zygar, founding editor of the independent Russian news channel TV Rain, wrote in a statement.
Zygar, who left Russia days after the invasion of Ukraine, said Navalny would serve as an example and inspiration for the future of the Russian opposition.
“We will always have Alexei Navalny with us as a perfect example,” Zygar wrote. “As a superhero for many generations. As a man whose story children will grow up with.”
Dasha, who has only lived under Putin's regime, said the opposition could not afford to become complacent.
“We live in a Russia where Putin has always been in power, and we face the frightening prospect of waiting for his death as the only realistic catalyst for change,” she said. “I hope this will prompt us to engage in increased political activism, recognizing that the current system stifles dissent and perpetuates injustice.”
Like Zygar, Yana described Navalny as a “superman,” but struck a more pessimistic tone about what his death means for Russia.
Even when some young Russians became disillusioned with their country in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, “all speeches or motivational slogans always had Alexei’s name on them,” she said.
“Even after the start of the war in Ukraine, many people kept repeating these phrases,” she said. “They won't do that anymore.”
However, Zygar wrote that Navalny “will be the founding father of the new Russia.”
“Many people seriously believe that there is no democracy in the world, no freedom of expression, only propaganda everywhere, and no such thing as fair justice. But Alexei believed in all these values,” Zygar wrote. “Yes.”
“So we all have to believe now,” he added. “Future generations will grow and learn by looking at him, and they will believe, too.
