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On Monday, less than a day after Navaln’s arrival in Russia, the court decided to hold him in detention for at least another 30 days.
This means that at the end of January, when a decision is expected to convert the activist’s 3.5-year probation sentence to prison for violating the conditions of the probationary period, A. Navalnas will probably not be able to pose for the media. and can travel directly to the prison. .
“What is this toad (Putin, ed.) Afraid of? What are these bunker residents afraid of? People walking the streets. So don’t be afraid to go outside. Not for me, but for me and my future, “said A. Navalnas.
According to Galeotti, the Kremlin did everything possible so that Navaln’s return did not become a performance for the media. He had to fly to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, where hundreds of journalists, supporters and riot police officers were waiting.
But at the last minute, a “technical problem” was found and the plane headed to Sheremetyevo airport. Due to everything, the road leading to this airport was still closed in Moscow, and then it was already possible to detain A. Navalnas under passport control.
Such a cookie, and the fact that hundreds of thousands of people viewed live footage of Navaln’s return online, suggest that the Kremlin’s interpretation that the activist is a completely insignificant figure is a lie.
AFP / Photo by Scanpix / Alexei Navaln returned to Moscow
“We must not overestimate Navalno. Even after his poisoning, many Russians do not know who he is, and many others still repeat what is said on state television: that Navaln is an opportunist or a foreign servant, that poisoning was gambled.” writes Galeotti.
But the mere fact that a man whom Vladimir Putin cannot be forced to call by name (“patient in Berlin”, “the person you mention”) can still penetrate the surface is a great triumph.
Navalnas uses social media, street protests, YouTube research and shows the cynicism and hypocrisy of the Putin regime.
“It has been tolerated for a long time, it was a gesture of democracy that the regime believed it professed.” When Navaln wanted to fight Sergei Sobyanin in the Moscow mayoral elections, Sobyanin himself asked to be allowed to participate.
Sobyanin knew that by defeating Navalna, and not one of the gray buildings of the fake opposition parties, he would gain as much legitimacy as no election could provide, ”recalls Galeotti.
AFP / Scanpix photo / A.Navaln on a plane to Russia
But now Navaln is increasingly dangerous for the regime, and Putin seems deliberately unwilling to take any more risks. The Kremlin does not like Navaln’s initiative for a tactical vote against “United Russia.”
“The parliamentary elections are approaching (the elections to the State Duma will be held in autumn, – ed.), So something had to be done, something that turned into an assassination attempt”, underlines M. Galeotti.
If you start Navalna, it will start working again. Otherwise, the Kremlin will show that it is afraid of someone whose names are not mentioned.
The analyst pays tribute to A. Navalns, that any western country could have given him political asylum and the institute, a comfortable co-worker status. But the activist wanted to return, and on his return he said that this day, the best of the last five months, no matter how big Germany is.
“It is both the courage of the highest level and a precise political calculation; after all, from abroad he could not be a real force in Russian politics, in the opposition. Navaln shows a desire to resist the regime that tried to kill him.
If it persists, the moral authority will be undeniable. Yes, God forbid, you can’t stand it, he will become another martyr. If you start Navalna, it will work again. Otherwise, the Kremlin will show that it is afraid of a person whose last name is not mentioned, ”says M. Galeotti.
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