New York: Russian dissidents Alexei Navalnywho is President Vladimir Putinhis top political rival die February, I believe he will die in prisonaccording to his will Memoirs It will be released on October 22nd.
The New Yorker published excerpts from the book, which include Navalny’s prison diary and earlier diaries.
“I will spend the rest of my life in prison and die here,” he wrote on March 22, 2022.
“There will be no farewells…all anniversaries will be celebrated without me. I will never see my grandchildren.”
Navalny is serving a “19-year prison sentence.”extremism” charges in an Arctic penal colony.
His death on February 16 at the age of 47 sparked widespread condemnation, with many blaming Putin.
Navalny suffered a major health emergency after being poisoned in 2020 and was arrested upon his return to Russia in January 2021.
He wrote on January 17, 2022: “The only thing we should be worried about is that we are surrendering our homes to be pillaged by a band of liars, thieves and hypocrites.”
The diary reveals the heavy toll taken by the prison regime and his crimes. hunger strike According to further excerpts published by The Times of London, he put stress on his body.
“Today I felt like a wreck. We went to the bathhouse. I could barely stand standing under the hot shower. My legs were weak. It’s night now and I have no strength at all. I just want to lie down, that’s number one This time I was emotionally and morally frustrated,” he wrote in one post.
Diary “My Remembrance”
These excerpts capture the loneliness of incarceration, but there is also a hint of humor.
For example, on July 1, 2022, Navalny outlined his typical day: waking up at 6:00 am, having breakfast at 6:20 am, and starting work at 6:40 am.
“At work, you sat in front of your sewing machine on a stool below knee height for seven hours,” he wrote.
“After get off work, you continue to sit on the wooden bench under Putin’s portrait for several hours. This is what is called a ‘disciplinary activity’.”
The book, titled “Patriot,” will be published by American publisher Knopf, which also plans to release a Russian version.
“It’s impossible to read Navalny’s prison diary without feeling outraged by the tragedy he suffered and his death,” New Yorker editor David Remnick wrote.
In the last excerpt published by the magazine on January 17, 2024, Navalny responded to questions posed to him by inmates and prison guards: Why did he return to Russia?
“I don’t want to abandon my country or betray it. If your beliefs have meaning, you must be ready to defend them and make sacrifices if necessary,” he said.
Navalny speculated on the consequences of any attempt to assassinate him, saying his memoir “will be a monument to me.”
“If they hit me, my family will get an advance and royalties, I hope, there will be,” he wrote.
He joked: “Let’s face it, if an assassination attempt using chemical weapons, followed by a tragic death in prison, couldn’t move a book, it’s hard to imagine what could.”
“What more could a marketing department ask for?”
