Navalny, politics and morals
The Putin regime and society
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia’s political future will be decided by what happens to Navalny. The Putin regime has destroyed the state as a public institutional structure and has privatised it for its own purposes. It controls and sterilises the political space itself and through increasingly harsh repressive measures attempts to deny citizens and society their rights. Alexei Navalny is the only politician who despite this situation was able to act publicly and develop a countervailing power, and who attempted to win back the political space for society. His decision to return to Russia, despite an attempt on his life and the threat of incarceration, is an act of enormous ethical and political significance. Navalny demonstrates utter courageousness at a time in which the regime is trying to break up protest, intimidate society and disseminate fear once again.
(Osteuropa 3/2021, pp. 29–38)