Comrades, Welcome to the desert of the real. This year, I will endeavour to publish twice a week; Politics midweek, Culture or Bonus Obscenities on the weekend. If you have the means, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Aleksei Navalny’s mother and lawyer were told on February 17 that he had died of “sudden death syndrome”
We should be clear about a few things here. Alexei Navalny was not an opposition leader in Russia. He had almost zero popular support. He was a hero for Western Liberals - but not for Russians. What he said about the corruption of the Russian ruling class would be difficult for anyone to deny, but he undermined his arguments by taking money from outside forces hostile to Russia. He was caught on tape doing this. He didn't deny it at his trial. He took hundreds of thousands of dollars from people who wish to destroy Russia. What would other countries do in such a situation? Well, we have the example of the Black Peoples' Socialist Party in the USA, otherwise known as the Uhuru Movement. They have been doing excellent work in impoverished and excluded communities in the US since the 1960s. Well, one Russian man supposedly made a one thousand dollar donation to them. What happened? The FBI raided the home of the 85 year old leader. Dragged him and his 80 year old wife into the street, pushed them down on their faces on the ground - and shoved rifle barrels into their heads. Now they are on trial for allegedly taking funds from a non-registered foreign entity. And they face jail for their supposed "crime." So let's not pretend that the treatment of Navalny is unheard of. And nor is he the only political prisoner to die in captivity recently. Have you heard of Gonzalo Lira? Arrested for criticizing the Ukrainian government and murdered in prison. Maybe you haven't heard of him - it seems nobody in the Western media has either - despite him being a US citizen. Another important point to remember is that Navalny was not actually against corrupt ruling classes, he just wanted to replace Putin's corrupt ruling class with a US \ EU style corrupt ruling class.
Thank-you! I agree with your comments. The usa is an army prison police camp pretending to be a country. Can anybody name a country that the usa has not tried to push around at one time or another? The usa is great at making people think someone else did it. The usa should be your default suspect in all terrorism cases if history is any guide.
Absolutely false, all my Russian friends and their families were Navalny supporters. And the second part of your comment confuses me, are you trying to say that Navalny's treatment was justified because he took money from the USA, and so the treatment of the leader of the Black People's Socialist Party was also justified because he took money from the Russians, or were they both bad? If you say one is understandable and the other is a crime, then all you're really saying is Russia (or actually just whatever dictator happens to be ruling it) good, USA bad.
How many Russian friends have you got? Are they in Russia? Because Russians abroad can be quite Westernized. They aren't representative of the Russians in Russia. I'm saying that any country in the world would put you in jail for taking money from your country's enemies.
I'm from Moldova, the Russians i know are not "Westernized". And i know Russians who have lived, up until very recently, in Russia. Why are you here arguing with me about this, when you could look up the protest that happened at Navalny's funeral? The many Russians who laid flowers for Navalny at a monument for USSR victims of political gulag and were caught and interrogated by the police? The huge protests he used to organize before it became fully illegal? You gave an example of Black people being oppressed by the US to justify what has happened to Navalny. Doesn't that make you want to stop and think about what you're really saying?
Very few Russians are critical of the USSR. A recent poll showed that 75% of Russians think the Soviet Union was the most glorious era in all of Russia's history. And so it was. Regarding Navalny's arrest and trial, I'm saying that any country in the world would arrest you for taking money from your country's enemies. Not just Russia.
1. you're conflating support for the USSR for support for the current regime, 2. even if we take your implication as real, a theoretical 25% opposition would be significant and pretty far from the 0% you were implying support for Navalny was closer to, 3. I think I know the stat you're referring to and it did not ask whether the USSR was the most glorious period of Russian history, it simply asked whether life was better then (which btw means they think they're doing worse now, in Putin's regime), don't make things up.
I remember thinking, once he survived the poison - which was a miracle in itself and learning he had returned to Russia - it had to be certain death after that. Now unless he was stupid - he wasn't, or crazy - but aren't all of us crazy when we step away from the norm - the fool who steps off the cliff into nowhere fool who knows their life is no life unless they do - my only reasoning on his certain death and we still don't know the circumstances except that it was certain - is it had to be part of his plan. and is as useful a part to play as if he were alive. That's the only way I can see it - and so I hope it is part of the plan and that somehow he continues to oppose in spirit and larger than life.
Navnalny was a CIA asset and had been funded by the usa for years! Certainly you know this. This canadian stands with Putin and Russia. I used to respect Slavo but no more. To ignore the role of usa funded global terrorism is disgusting.
At the start of the Ukraine war I was 100 percent behind Russia. After following the western political and intellectual class regarding this war I am now 25,000 percent behind Russia. The usa and it's vassals are very good at making us think someone else did it.
for me it was simple to see . . . in 1991 when the soviet union collapsed, we promised russia we wouldn't expand nato one inch to the east and instead we've continued to do so so they have been provoking russia since 1992 and this is the result, ukraine is wrecked and nato with it, good.
Navnalny was anything but genuine!! He was a CIA asset being groomed to assist the usa regime change efforts in Russia. How can people not see the hand of the usa in this? Is there a worse or bigger terrorist than the usa? Do you not read history? This Canadian stands with Putin and Russia and all peoples seeking freedom from the treacherous murderous sadistic blood soaked usa and nato and Israel and the eu.
"Navalny’s belief in god and disbelief in death really point towards is not a personal god or literal immortality but the belief in, again, what Lacan called the big Other, a symbolic-virtual agency which registers and evaluates the true meaning of all our acts..."
No, I think it's fair to assume that those beliefs did probably point toward a personal god (or God) and literal immortality, and toward real science as well--at least, as far as Navalny was concerned. It's ridiculously presumptuous--especially after the man's murder--to annotate his words to make them accord with your special fascinations. In very bad taste as well.
the fool illuminates the beauty and has a disdain for the demonic, the fool connects with the people while the price can only impose him self on the people
Navalny was a really difficult man to pin down. I had my doubts about his motivations. Now I'm wondering if this world can only be saved by those who have absolute belief and determination in something beyond themselves; who actually live the ‘religious way of life’ (and not necessarily in any transcendental sense) to the very end. I thought there were no such people left. Apparently there was one.
By bookkeeping, I reckon you mean historians making sense of his legacy. Let's hope Navalny's legacy is reckoned with honestly. But in today's nutty ideological world, I won't get my hopes up.
But how can Ukraine be supported without aligning with Western interests? And at the same time, how can we support Ukraine in a way that does not diminish the power of the West, so that Russia becomes stronger?
I can t understand what he wanted to do.He returned to Russia in order to be imprisoned with aim to succeed what?Did he expect Putin to be intimidated or to spare his life.Naturally,after becoming the cornerstone of resistance Putin decided to exterminate him.I really don t know what to think of Navalny.
He believed that his actions would be evaluated. Presumably he thought that returning to Russia was an action that he could be proud of, even if it failed to lead to any change in the short term.
If the human condition is to always have to act and never be able to know which action is correct, the rational thing to do is to act only in ways that you wouldn't regret even if they turn out to have been incorrect. It seems Navalny felt that returning to Russia was that kind of act, the kind that would be unquestionably true to his cause regardless of whether it was effective.
My guess is that he expected bigger-scale spontaneous resistance and relied on the internal part of his organization. Remember that he returned before the war started, when there was still hope for a peaceful power transfer (ephemeral as it was).
I cannot speak for him, right? It's just my understanding. And there was spontaneous resistance, the protests after his incarceration were the last big protest wave. But it was not enough, evidently.
Navnalny was a CIA plant like Guadio is a CIA plant in Venezuela. And for the same purpose. The usa is the global terrorist and has been for over a century. The usa stirs up trouble globally to loot and steal to enrich themselves. It is pretty simple really. The usa is the bully in the schoolyard beating up the other kids and stealing their lunch money.
There's a Kirk Douglas movie, "Lonely Are The Brave" that pretty much sums up what I feel about this man's tragic end. He could have, you know, done the lecture circuit around the world declaiming against the dictator-thug, sharing with audiences everywhere all the shit he knew about the regime and how he'd been marked for death but somehow miraculously survived - an act of God. He could have been a stone in Putin's shoe for however much longer Pitin lives. I suspect he wasn't thinking straight and it might have been the effects of the poison. A huge loss.
We should be clear about a few things here. Alexei Navalny was not an opposition leader in Russia. He had almost zero popular support. He was a hero for Western Liberals - but not for Russians. What he said about the corruption of the Russian ruling class would be difficult for anyone to deny, but he undermined his arguments by taking money from outside forces hostile to Russia. He was caught on tape doing this. He didn't deny it at his trial. He took hundreds of thousands of dollars from people who wish to destroy Russia. What would other countries do in such a situation? Well, we have the example of the Black Peoples' Socialist Party in the USA, otherwise known as the Uhuru Movement. They have been doing excellent work in impoverished and excluded communities in the US since the 1960s. Well, one Russian man supposedly made a one thousand dollar donation to them. What happened? The FBI raided the home of the 85 year old leader. Dragged him and his 80 year old wife into the street, pushed them down on their faces on the ground - and shoved rifle barrels into their heads. Now they are on trial for allegedly taking funds from a non-registered foreign entity. And they face jail for their supposed "crime." So let's not pretend that the treatment of Navalny is unheard of. And nor is he the only political prisoner to die in captivity recently. Have you heard of Gonzalo Lira? Arrested for criticizing the Ukrainian government and murdered in prison. Maybe you haven't heard of him - it seems nobody in the Western media has either - despite him being a US citizen. Another important point to remember is that Navalny was not actually against corrupt ruling classes, he just wanted to replace Putin's corrupt ruling class with a US \ EU style corrupt ruling class.
Thank-you! I agree with your comments. The usa is an army prison police camp pretending to be a country. Can anybody name a country that the usa has not tried to push around at one time or another? The usa is great at making people think someone else did it. The usa should be your default suspect in all terrorism cases if history is any guide.
Absolutely false, all my Russian friends and their families were Navalny supporters. And the second part of your comment confuses me, are you trying to say that Navalny's treatment was justified because he took money from the USA, and so the treatment of the leader of the Black People's Socialist Party was also justified because he took money from the Russians, or were they both bad? If you say one is understandable and the other is a crime, then all you're really saying is Russia (or actually just whatever dictator happens to be ruling it) good, USA bad.
How many Russian friends have you got? Are they in Russia? Because Russians abroad can be quite Westernized. They aren't representative of the Russians in Russia. I'm saying that any country in the world would put you in jail for taking money from your country's enemies.
I'm from Moldova, the Russians i know are not "Westernized". And i know Russians who have lived, up until very recently, in Russia. Why are you here arguing with me about this, when you could look up the protest that happened at Navalny's funeral? The many Russians who laid flowers for Navalny at a monument for USSR victims of political gulag and were caught and interrogated by the police? The huge protests he used to organize before it became fully illegal? You gave an example of Black people being oppressed by the US to justify what has happened to Navalny. Doesn't that make you want to stop and think about what you're really saying?
Very few Russians are critical of the USSR. A recent poll showed that 75% of Russians think the Soviet Union was the most glorious era in all of Russia's history. And so it was. Regarding Navalny's arrest and trial, I'm saying that any country in the world would arrest you for taking money from your country's enemies. Not just Russia.
1. you're conflating support for the USSR for support for the current regime, 2. even if we take your implication as real, a theoretical 25% opposition would be significant and pretty far from the 0% you were implying support for Navalny was closer to, 3. I think I know the stat you're referring to and it did not ask whether the USSR was the most glorious period of Russian history, it simply asked whether life was better then (which btw means they think they're doing worse now, in Putin's regime), don't make things up.
Look at the state of Moldova now. Are you trying to tell me that it's better now than in the Soviet Union?
Like Martin Luther King, I think he understood that his own death would be his strongest weapon. And he used it. And now we wait. Thank you!
I remember thinking, once he survived the poison - which was a miracle in itself and learning he had returned to Russia - it had to be certain death after that. Now unless he was stupid - he wasn't, or crazy - but aren't all of us crazy when we step away from the norm - the fool who steps off the cliff into nowhere fool who knows their life is no life unless they do - my only reasoning on his certain death and we still don't know the circumstances except that it was certain - is it had to be part of his plan. and is as useful a part to play as if he were alive. That's the only way I can see it - and so I hope it is part of the plan and that somehow he continues to oppose in spirit and larger than life.
Navnalny was a CIA asset and had been funded by the usa for years! Certainly you know this. This canadian stands with Putin and Russia. I used to respect Slavo but no more. To ignore the role of usa funded global terrorism is disgusting.
Even if this was true, what does it change about what was said in the article?
Fascinating perspective from Slavoj. By ignoring him they made him more present, especially in the West. Lacan’s ‘the big other’, lived that analogy.
Only in the West. But the so called "West" has a very, very, short memory.
putin enjoys an 82% approval rating . . . he has no need to kill political opponents because there are no political opponents
At the start of the Ukraine war I was 100 percent behind Russia. After following the western political and intellectual class regarding this war I am now 25,000 percent behind Russia. The usa and it's vassals are very good at making us think someone else did it.
for me it was simple to see . . . in 1991 when the soviet union collapsed, we promised russia we wouldn't expand nato one inch to the east and instead we've continued to do so so they have been provoking russia since 1992 and this is the result, ukraine is wrecked and nato with it, good.
we don't know yet how he died, but yes, he was an authentic reactionary
Navnalny was anything but genuine!! He was a CIA asset being groomed to assist the usa regime change efforts in Russia. How can people not see the hand of the usa in this? Is there a worse or bigger terrorist than the usa? Do you not read history? This Canadian stands with Putin and Russia and all peoples seeking freedom from the treacherous murderous sadistic blood soaked usa and nato and Israel and the eu.
"Navalny’s belief in god and disbelief in death really point towards is not a personal god or literal immortality but the belief in, again, what Lacan called the big Other, a symbolic-virtual agency which registers and evaluates the true meaning of all our acts..."
No, I think it's fair to assume that those beliefs did probably point toward a personal god (or God) and literal immortality, and toward real science as well--at least, as far as Navalny was concerned. It's ridiculously presumptuous--especially after the man's murder--to annotate his words to make them accord with your special fascinations. In very bad taste as well.
the fool illuminates the beauty and has a disdain for the demonic, the fool connects with the people while the price can only impose him self on the people
Navalny was a really difficult man to pin down. I had my doubts about his motivations. Now I'm wondering if this world can only be saved by those who have absolute belief and determination in something beyond themselves; who actually live the ‘religious way of life’ (and not necessarily in any transcendental sense) to the very end. I thought there were no such people left. Apparently there was one.
By bookkeeping, I reckon you mean historians making sense of his legacy. Let's hope Navalny's legacy is reckoned with honestly. But in today's nutty ideological world, I won't get my hopes up.
But how can Ukraine be supported without aligning with Western interests? And at the same time, how can we support Ukraine in a way that does not diminish the power of the West, so that Russia becomes stronger?
Can you support Russia in a way that meaningfully hurts the West?
I can t understand what he wanted to do.He returned to Russia in order to be imprisoned with aim to succeed what?Did he expect Putin to be intimidated or to spare his life.Naturally,after becoming the cornerstone of resistance Putin decided to exterminate him.I really don t know what to think of Navalny.
He believed that his actions would be evaluated. Presumably he thought that returning to Russia was an action that he could be proud of, even if it failed to lead to any change in the short term.
If the human condition is to always have to act and never be able to know which action is correct, the rational thing to do is to act only in ways that you wouldn't regret even if they turn out to have been incorrect. It seems Navalny felt that returning to Russia was that kind of act, the kind that would be unquestionably true to his cause regardless of whether it was effective.
So he did not regret it?
My assumption is that he went there knowing how it would end. I hope he didn't regret it.
My guess is that he expected bigger-scale spontaneous resistance and relied on the internal part of his organization. Remember that he returned before the war started, when there was still hope for a peaceful power transfer (ephemeral as it was).
Did he expect spontaneous resistance?where,in Russia?
He was not naive,he was fool.
I cannot speak for him, right? It's just my understanding. And there was spontaneous resistance, the protests after his incarceration were the last big protest wave. But it was not enough, evidently.
Navnalny was a CIA plant like Guadio is a CIA plant in Venezuela. And for the same purpose. The usa is the global terrorist and has been for over a century. The usa stirs up trouble globally to loot and steal to enrich themselves. It is pretty simple really. The usa is the bully in the schoolyard beating up the other kids and stealing their lunch money.
And why Navnalny returned to Russia.Did the CIA ordered him to go back and die?
And why he accepted,it was obvious that he would die.
There's a Kirk Douglas movie, "Lonely Are The Brave" that pretty much sums up what I feel about this man's tragic end. He could have, you know, done the lecture circuit around the world declaiming against the dictator-thug, sharing with audiences everywhere all the shit he knew about the regime and how he'd been marked for death but somehow miraculously survived - an act of God. He could have been a stone in Putin's shoe for however much longer Pitin lives. I suspect he wasn't thinking straight and it might have been the effects of the poison. A huge loss.
That's de-claiming auto correct!
There is an "edit" function for our posts here.
Just click the "..." at the bottom of your post.
Great article