The brought immediate condemnations from world leaders, .
One cannot the Russian president had Navalny killed. But the dissident’s death ahead of in March fits a pattern. Putin’s detractors have a habit of dying at moments .
Nonetheless, statements like Joe Biden’s, who held Putin for Navalny’s death, play to Kremlin propaganda.
‘Western stooge’
Putin has been able to divide those who support Navalny with a combination of pandering to them and condemning the dissident as a .
The passion and breadth of western outrage is grist for this mill. The ability of Navalny’s widow, , and other reformers to bring about future change in Russia could be undermined if their cause becomes associated with the West.
Navalny’s appeal in Russia went beyond the democratic and that earned him . To Russians, Navalny was first and foremost .
He was a threat to Putin because , a segment of Russian politics once critical of the strongman.
Putin is, assuredly, an authoritarian leader and commands powers. But he’s always needed the support of Russian citizens. For more than a decade, have been key to his longevity.
The political turmoil of the 1990s and early 2000s left many Russians questioning their place in the world. Russia went from the centre of one of the world’s superpowers to what some Russians perceived as being by the United States.
Yeltsin’s successor
Putin, as the successor to Russia’s first president — Boris Yeltsin — staked out between Communists, who advocated a return to something like the Soviet Union, and nationalists, who sought to restore Russia to its status as a great power.
This balancing act was obvious early in Putin’s first term in office. Russian nationalists cried foul because western powers fought wars to preserve human rights in some countries while Russians in post-Soviet states were slighted.
But Putin, not beholden to nationalists at this point in time, actually , that bastion of the West.
The U.S. Putin’s suggestion seriously. As a result, along with that the U.S. supported his political foes, the Russian president looked to cultivate another source of stability. He turned to the Russian nationalists.
For certain Russian nationalists, of their ideology. Putin now fully embraces these nationalists. His fear of them challenging his domestic position, in fact, helped fuel his in Ukraine over the past decade.
Putin was unable to extricate himself from the Donbas region of Ukraine — with its Russian-speaking majority — without the risk of losing the support of Russian nationalists. This is one of the factors that caused him to in February 2022.
Navalny’s appeal
While initially on the political spectrum, over time. Nevertheless, his vision for Russia did not always align with western ideals.
Navalny believed Crimea be returned to Ukraine following Russia’s 2014 annexation, for example. This is consistent with nationalist arguments that . Furthermore, while Navalny’s views on immigration evolved, they were still .
Navalny understood his appeal to Russians, and how dangerous it was to Putin, very well. In 2020, Navalny was transported to Berlin for medical treatment after being poisoned with the . Novichok, it should be noted, .
Before returning to Russia to continue challenging Putin, Navalny released a video in case he died while in custody.
In it, he told the Russian people:
“If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power to not give up and to realize that we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don’t realize how strong we actually are.”
Damaging Navalny’s legacy
The West, by championing Navalny, risks diminishing his legacy as a champion of the Russian people due to .
For years, Putin Navalny by name. The Russian leader’s supporters and government, however, were not so circumspect. The Kremlin, in fact, went so far as to accuse Navalny of being a .
The world leaders who have expressed the most outrage after Navalny’s death are western: Biden, , and others.
The contrast between these statements and those by Brazilian President and China’s are stark. Neither statement condemned Putin for Navalny’s death.
Regardless of the validity of their noncommittal stances, these leaders have helped the Kremlin further link .
Navalny displayed great personal courage in his convictions by returning to Russia, knowing he would almost certainly .
People like Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya — not western leaders — are best placed to carry on the fight for Russia’s future. But they’ll only succeed if Navalny’s cause isn’t seen by Russian nationalists as being anchored to western ideals.
, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, and , Associate Professor of International Relations and National Security Studies and Graduate Program Director for National Security Studies,
This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .
