Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to journalists during a 2019 rally in Moscow. Navalny premieres April 24 on CNN and CNN+.
Maxim Zmeyev / AFP via Getty Images
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Maxim Zmeyev / AFP via Getty Images
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to journalists during a 2019 rally in Moscow. Navalny premieres April 24 on CNN and CNN+.
Maxim Zmeyev / AFP via Getty Images
In his valuable new book, Age of the strong, Gideon Rachman argues that our world is dominated by populist leaders who are destroying democracy, in part because of their own cult of leadership. He dedicates his first chapter to the strongman he calls “the archetype”: Vladimir PutinRussian president/dictator whose true nature is currently shown in Ukraine.
Of course, Putin is also not afraid to attack his own citizens. Among his top goals are Alexei Navalnycharismatic, media-savvy dissident who has spoken out so strongly about the Kremlin’s lies and corruption that Putin won’t actually say his name.
Navalny, now in prison, is the subject of a new documentary by Daniel Roher, which is sometimes heavy but never less engaging. Made before the invasion of Ukraine, and simply titled Navalnyit provides intimate, sometimes surprising, access to human bravery and cost against an autocrat.
Instead of providing a direct summary of Navalny’s career, the film focuses on its most dramatic episode. In August 2020, Navalny was flying from Siberia back to Moscow – we see the footage from the plane – when he suddenly fell ill and passed away.
The flight is diverted to Omsk, where he is taken to a hospital where doctors strangely don’t want his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, to see him. Fearing a murder plot, she and his colleagues fight to get him to a hospital in Germany. Rumor has it that he was injected with a dose of Novichok, a deadly nerve gas known as Putin’s signature poison.
The flight is diverted to Omsk, where he is taken to a hospital where doctors strangely don’t want his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, to see him. Fearing a murder plot, she and his colleagues fight to get him to a hospital in Germany. Rumor has it that he was injected with a dose of Novichok, a deadly nerve gas known as Putin’s signature poison.
As he begins to recover, Navalny and his team try to find out who tried to kill him. They connected with investigative journalist Christo Grozev from the Bellingcat website, who Navalny calls “a nice, very nice Bulgarian nerd with a laptop.” Breaking into flight manifests etc., Grozev narrows down the possible killers, some of whom have been hiding Navalny since 2017. In the film’s most spectacular moment – which I won’t spoil – they get the smoke gun with the Kremlin’s fingerprints. .
As he begins to recover, Navalny and his team try to find out who tried to kill him. They connected with investigative journalist Christo Grozev from the Bellingcat website, who Navalny calls “a nice, very nice Bulgarian nerd with a laptop.” Breaking into flight manifests etc., Grozev narrows down the possible killers, some of whom have been hiding Navalny since 2017. In the film’s most spectacular moment – which I won’t spoil – they get the smoke gun with the Kremlin’s fingerprints. .
While this investigation plays out as enjoyable as a thriller, Roher is equally interested in providing us with a close-up portrait of the man inside the hero. We see Navalny’s joy in feeding his wife donkeys and his love for TikTokking son and daughter. We see his humor and insight on the tree stump: He is jubilantly cheered by a Russian crowd that Putin is a thief. And we feel the rage that gives him strength. At one point, a colleague told him that when answering Roher’s questions, his gaze was so angry, that he needed to look kinder.
While this investigation plays out as enjoyable as a thriller, Roher is equally interested in providing us with a close-up portrait of the man inside the hero. We see Navalny’s joy in feeding his wife donkeys and his love for TikTokking son and daughter. We see his humor and insight on the tree stump: He is jubilantly cheered by a Russian crowd that Putin is a thief. And we feel the rage that gives him strength. At one point, a colleague told him that when answering Roher’s questions, his gaze was so angry, that he needed to look kinder.
Now, Navalny is no exception. Although he has matured over the years, he has a somewhat unsettling past as a Russian nationalist. He once walked in a rally that included neo-Nazis, an act he defended by arguing that to topple someone as powerful as Putin, you must be willing to work with him. groups that you do not fully agree with.
Now, Navalny is no exception. Although he has matured over the years, he has a somewhat unsettling past as a Russian nationalist. He once walked in a rally that included neo-Nazis, an act he defended by arguing that to topple someone as powerful as Putin, you must be willing to work with him. groups that you do not fully agree with.
In any case, one should not be too critical of a person who is willing to risk everything to fight an oppressive government. This territory has a certain messianic vanity and wildness.
In any case, one should not be too critical of a person who is willing to risk everything to fight an oppressive government. This territory has a certain messianic vanity and wildness.
Navalny is clearly excellent at conveying his rebellion, and his success as a YouTube provocateur shows the power of social media in challenging dictatorships. Putin clearly sees him as threatening; Finally, crowds gathered at the airport to greet Navalny as he returned to Moscow.
Navalny is clearly excellent at conveying his rebellion, and his success as a YouTube provocateur shows the power of social media in challenging dictatorships. Putin clearly sees him as threatening; Finally, crowds gathered at the airport to greet Navalny as he returned to Moscow.
However, we are also reminded that the soft power of social media rarely matches the hard power of state repression, like the police arresting and beating supporters in the stadium. fly. Navalny curses that one of his videos hit a million views in an hour, but that didn’t stop Putin from sending him to jail – he’s still there, serving a 9-year sentence – any horrors around the world prevented Putin from invading Ukraine.
At the end of the film, while filming his almost certain arrest in Russia, Navalny posts an inspirational video in which he declares that he is not afraid and he appeals to his supporters – and us. – don’t be afraid either. Now, he doesn’t really expect that we will all be as brilliantly brave as he is. Few. However, like Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainians are proving that right now, ordinary people can be terrified of the cruelty of a tyrant like Putin and still muster up the courage to oppose him.
However, we are also reminded that the soft power of social media rarely matches the hard power of state repression, like the police arresting and beating supporters in the stadium. fly. Navalny curses that one of his videos hit a million views in an hour, but that didn’t stop Putin from sending him to jail – he’s still there, serving a 9-year sentence – any horrors around the world prevented Putin from invading Ukraine.
At the end of the film, while filming his almost certain arrest in Russia, Navalny posts an inspirational video in which he declares that he is not afraid and he appeals to his supporters – and us. – don’t be afraid either. Now, he doesn’t really expect that we will all be as brilliantly brave as he is. Few. However, like Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainians are proving that right now, ordinary people can be terrified of the cruelty of a tyrant like Putin and still muster up the courage to oppose him.
