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‘Sudden Death Syndrome’
On Saturday morning, Lyudmila Navalnaya arrived in the tiny, frigid settlement of Kharp for the second time in a week.
Five days earlier, she was there to visit her son. This trip, she was in town to collect his body.
Huddled under a hulking mass of black coats, the 69-year-old waited two hours at the bleak, icy penal colony where Aleksei Navalny spent his final months. It was a balmy -10°F at the Yamalo-Nenets prison, a remnant of the Soviet Gulag network.
For her trouble, Lyudmila learned
Putin is literally gutting everything that was beautiful about Russia.
How much longer until all that is left is a group of thugs taking and selling all the natural resources to enrich themselves?
They already have.
Navalnay is just one of the far over half a million deaths caused by Putin’s regime so far. It needs to be emphasized that although Western media has been enshrouding him as an icon of potential democracy and a friendlier Russia, Navalnay was a Russian imperialist who also flirted with fascism. There’s no shortage of quotes for anyone wanting to look it up.
His death is of course signficant regardless, in that it seals the deal on being in opposition to Putin’s regime – you simply can’t or there will be the harshest consequences.
Navalny’s political evolution was complicated, but it’s hard to argue with those who say he was becoming more liberal and pro-Western in the last few years of his life. Putin certainly seemed to think so and, given Navalny’s charisma and growing popularity among younger Russians, long ago decided that Navalny had to die.
First and foremost, Navalny was anti-corruption.
Every dissident, rebel, revolutionary, and would-be usurper is anti-corruption. It takes no effort and plays well with the masses. Hell, Trump is anti-corruption. That’s what, “Drain the swamp,” means. Words are wind.
This is an important point. Ask a Ukrainian what they think of Navalny. Ask them what they think about what he has said about Crimea. We can admit that his death is obscene, without question. But he was never a solution. Only an alternative.
Russia is a dead country that has been stripped of its wealth for hundreds of years by the few in charge. It will only end when the Russian masses say ‘enough’. I wonder if it’s possible any more for the masses to rise up against a well armed minority intent on keeping power at any cost. The majority in a number of countries are against the autocrats in charge, but so far have been unable to throw of the shackles – Iran, North Korea to name a few.
Lyrics “ALIVE” by Shaman
[Verse 1]
Cold Sky
And the heart in my chest to pieces
You didn’t believe in fear,
And you searched for the truth in spite of it,
Erasing all your soul through pain until it bleeds
You are a warrior of light
Who Stayed Alive
[Chorus]
Alive Say Your Name, Hero
You, Unconquered by fate
Returned home
Victorious Alive Alive Alive
You did not hide behind your back
Here every heart is with you
And even in heaven
You will remain forever…
[Verse 2]
You walked as before
But the fatal hour was approaching
You threw yourself into the sky
And became the brightest star
And the people under the sky
Looking at the eternal flame
And in each of them was a warrior
who remained alive
[Chorus]
Alive tell your name, Hero
You, Unconquered by fate
Returned home
Victorious Alive, Alive Alive
You Did Not Hide Behind Your Back
Here every heart is with you
And even in heaven
You will remain forever alive
ALIVE (CLIP IN SUPPORT OF ALEXEI NAVALNY) / SHAMAN