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Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

economist.com

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Re: Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

#31

Post by thejackgoode »

throwaway4good wrote: post #25

How much popular support does Navalny have in Russia? (I realize Russia is a banana republic and Navalny is a hero but does he actually represent something that has wide support in Russia? From the few Russians I have talked to, they seems supportive of Putin despite everything.)

It may be unusual or surprising even but I don't think it matters who has popular support in Russia - Russians have lost the minimum agency they had in the mid 90s. There was a failed attempt to regain it in 2011 but it was crushed.

Re: Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

#33

Post by cassianoleal »

Darmody wrote: post #13
eh8 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised he was able to make such statements for this long. I genuinely wonder why his captors even continue to let him live, when it seems like any post-2022 civil protest in Russia can and will be brutally repressed.

Have you seen pictures of him lately? For some people that's worse than death. It's a clear message from Putin. Get in my way and you'll end up like him. Not everybody is going to take that risk.

I haven't seen pictures. Just did a quick search now and didn't find anything relevant.

Is he in as precarious a state as Julian Assange is?

Re: Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

#35

Post by jagrsw »

Darmody wrote: post #7

I have a huge respect for Navalny. They tried to murder him and after spending time in a German hospital he decided to go back knowing that they'll imprison him or try to kill him again.

While Navalny's courage in facing political persecution is commendable, it's important to contextualize his earlier views to understand him fully.

Before his imprisonment and prior to the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, Navalny held positions that some might describe as nationalistic. For example, his stance on Crimea has been ambivalent, with statements that sometimes tacitly accept Russia's annexation of the region.

Navalny has a history of ethnocentric comments and has been involved in nationalist rallies in Russia. This complicates the narrative that he is solely a liberal figure fighting for democracy.

He opposes Putin's regime, but his political ideology doesn't necessarily align with values of international law, human rights, and economic freedoms.

Re: Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

#38

Post by r721 »

throwaway4good wrote: post #25

How much popular support does Navalny have in Russia? (I realize Russia is a banana republic and Navalny is a hero but does he actually represent something that has wide support in Russia? From the few Russians I have talked to, they seems supportive of Putin despite everything.)

One poll from May 2023 that I saw (the pollster is quite respectable):

"When asked 300 days before presidential elections Russians say they would vote for:

30,2% Putin

2% Prigozhin

2% Navalny

1.3% Zhirinovsky (who is dead)"

https://twitter.com/ABarbashin/status/1663222792605630464

https://russianfield.com/300days

Not a lot, but still higher than other non-Putin candidates (except Prigozhin, who is now dead)

Re: Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

#39

Post by ClumsyPilot »

throwaway4good wrote: post #25

How much popular support does Navalny have in Russia? (I realize Russia is a banana republic and Navalny is a hero but does he actually represent something that has wide support in Russia? From the few Russians I have talked to, they seems supportive of Putin despite everything.)

its imposible to know, no man on the street will admit supporting him for obvious reasons

Re: Alexei Navalny's lawyers are arrested

#40

Post by Darmody »

r721 wrote: post #20
Darmody wrote: post #7

I have a huge respect for Navalny. They tried to murder him and after spending time in a German hospital he decided to go back knowing that they'll imprison him or try to kill him again.

>knowing I think the risk was huge (personally I thought 50-70% at the time), but not 99% or something. Also (in my opinion) people don't take into account that alternative was irrelevance in exile, just look at what happened with Kasparov's popularity inside Russia, and he was a prominent opposition activist in 2011-2012.

That's my point. He had put everything at risk because he knew it was the right thing to do. When choosing between doing what you think is best and what keeps you safe, people often choose the later.
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