PUTIN KILLS NAVALNY

No, of course, Vladimir Putin didn't administer the poison that probably killed Alexei Navalny, but that doesn't absolve him of responsibility for Navalny’s death. Navalny shouldn't have been in a Russian prison in the first place. Given that Navalny was reportedly in good humor and good spirits shortly before he was said to be dead, foul play seems a certainty. Putin has a long track record of poisoning his opponents when he isn't having them thrown out of windows, being blown up on airplanes, or being shot. Do I think Vladimir Putin ordered Navalny's death? Yes, I do.

Few observers of Putin's Russia believe that Navalny's death was a surprise to the Russian strongman. Navalny's death was a foregone conclusion when Putin, for no apparent reason, had him shipped off to that remote arctic Russian hellhole a few weeks ago. Navalny's fate was determined in January 2021 when Putin grabbed him immediately upon his voluntary return to Russia from safety in Germany.

Navalny returned to Russia to keep alive the spirit of resistance to Putin's corruption and monstrous oppression of the Russian people. It will be interesting to see how Putin's pal and apologist, Donald Trump, jawbones away the Kremlin chief's destruction of this remarkable fighter against corruption. All of the excuses and speculation the Kremlin will offer regarding Navalny's death will fool few people, either in Russia or anywhere else where intelligent people reside.

 Navalny committed no crime, at least by the standards of the civilized world. Navalny's fate was sealed when Putin had this remarkably courageous man moved to IK-3, a frozen gulag prison forty miles north of the Arctic Circle. This is where Russia consigns its worst, incorrigible, and dangerous prisoners. And let's face it: in Putin's world, Alexei Navalny was both incorrigible and dangerous. He simply would not be deterred from exposing Putin's corruption. That made him both incorrigible and dangerous. In Vladimir Putin's world, no man is more dangerous than one who exposes the corruption that has made Vladimir Putin one of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men. He is also vicious, embracing assassination as a logical means of dealing with serious opposition.

So, in Putin's world, a fighter who exposes corruption represents an unacceptable threat to his rule. Even in death, however, Navalny will not be silenced. The Russian people, from the high Gora Elbrus in the Caucasus to the low Caspian Sea, and from the cool Black Sea coast to frigid Siberia, all know Alexei Navalny. They all know he didn't die a natural death. They know he died for them. And they know who killed him. They will not be silenced.

This enormously brave, peaceful, popular, and principled man was a festering sore on the side of Vladimir Putin. Putin has an impressive track record for dealing with such dogged opposition: cold-blooded murder.

Vladimir Putin, whom our former President, Donald Trump, thinks of as a great leader and a genius, is the antithesis of any American notion of greatness or genius. There is one way, and only one way, to think of Trump's pal, Vladimir Putin; he is a dangerous and murderous tyrant. He is without any redeeming value whatever —none!

According to Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, Navalny simply lost consciousness after taking a walk. Well, I suppose poison has a way of doing that to people.

President Biden said he was "both not surprised and outraged" by the news of Navalny's death. "We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did," Biden said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Navalny's "death in a Russian prison underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built."

The United Nations Human Rights Office spokesperson, Liz Throssell, said the office is "appalled at the news…If someone dies in the custody of the State, the presumption is that the State is responsible." She called for "a credible investigation by an independent body."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Navalny stood up for democracy and freedom in Russia — and paid for his courage with his life. "This terrible news shows once again how Russia has changed and what kind of regime is in power in Moscow," Scholz said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was equally unequivocal, "It is obvious that Putin killed him."

The European Union Council President, Charles Michel, said Navalny made the ultimate sacrifice for his ideals and that the EU "holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the news reminds the world what a "monster" Putin is. "It really shows the extent to which Putin has or will crack down on anyone who is fighting for freedom for the Russian people.

Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of imprisoned Russian-British journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, said if Navalny has died, the person responsible for Alexei's death is, of course, sitting in the Kremlin, and that is this despicable atrocity of a man by the name of Vladimir Putin."

 Hundreds gathered in London across from the Russian Embassy, holding signs reading "Putin is a murderer" and chanting "Russia will be free!"

Meanwhile, the rightwing blogosphere is full of absurd commentary comparing Russia's treatment of Navalny with the Biden Administration's treatment of Donald Trump. Navalny, more than likely, murdered in a frozen Russian gulag north of the Arctic Circle…Trump, a free man living in Mar-a-Lago, availing himself of every legal recourse to avoid answering for his plot to overturn an American election.

And, yesterday, as of the time I finished combing through the comments of public officials and other notables worldwide, former President Donald Trump, tone deaf to the events of the day, had only this to say following the news of Alexei Navalny’s probable murder in the Arctic Russian gulag.

"In just three and a half years under Crooked Joe Biden, the world has experienced Misery, Destruction, and Death. America is no longer respected because we have an incompetent president who is weak and doesn't understand what the world is thinking. I am the only one who can bring Peace, Prosperity, and Stability like I did during my first term. America will be respected and feared (if necessary!) again."

As Charlie Brown might say, "Good Grief!"

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Please consider our Of Thee I Sing 1776 Premium option. While my weekly column is always free, for just $5/month, you’ll also receive my annual ebook, “Essays For Our Time,” and my new Podcasts.

https://oftheeising1776.substack.com/subscribe.

Novels by Hal Gershowitz