Aleksei Navalny, the outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in February at the age of 47 in a remote Arctic prison.
A Haunting Glimpse
Two years before his death, Navalny wrote in his prison journal that he would likely spend the rest of his life behind bars and die there. His reflections are now being shared in excerpts from his posthumous memoir, Patriot, which will be released worldwide on October 22.
In one of the newly released entries from March 22, 2022, Navalny wrote about his bleak future in a Russian prison:
"I will never see my grandchildren. No one will say goodbye to me. My birthdays will be celebrated without me."
These words were shared in The New Yorker and The Times according to Digi24, giving readers a haunting glimpse into the activist's thoughts during his final years.
International Outrage
Navalny’s ordeal began after returning to Russia in January 2021, following his recovery from a near-fatal poisoning.
Upon arrival, he was immediately arrested and eventually sentenced to 19 years in prison for "extremism." He spent his last years in a penal colony in the Arctic, where he passed away on February 16, 2024.
His memoir captures the routine hardships of prison life. In an entry dated July 1, 2022, Navalny describes his daily schedule:
waking at 6 a.m., eating breakfast by 6:20 a.m., and starting work at 6:40 a.m., where he sat on a stool barely knee-high for seven hours at a sewing machine. Even during breaks, he would sit for hours under a portrait of Putin, a reminder of his oppressor.
Despite enduring physical and emotional suffering, Navalny retained his sharp sense of humor. He joked about the prospects of his memoir’s success, saying:
"If an assassination attempt with a chemical weapon, followed by a tragic prison death, doesn’t sell a book, I don’t know what will."
Navalny’s death was met with international outrage, with world leaders accusing Putin of orchestrating his demise.
