Before his death in a prison camp, Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny began writing his autobiography. The first excerpts are available before the official publication day.
Media in several countries have published the first excerpts from the book “Patriot” by Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp in the Russian Arctic region in February. The Spanish newspaper “El País”, for example, also caused a stir in the Russian media with passages described by Navalny about torture methods in prisons. In his autobiography, which will be published on October 22nd (Fischer Verlag), he also reports on rapes of prisoners by guards.
Human rights activists living in exile, who had repeatedly made public the mistreatment of prisoners, once again praised the fact that Navalny had made the torture methods used by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin internationally known. Navalny, who died at the age of 47 under unclear circumstances, had already made the human rights violations public while in custody. He was buried in Moscow on March 1st with great sympathy from thousands of people.
Navalny, who narrowly survived a poison attack with the chemical weapon Novichok in 2020 and was treated in Germany, also writes in the book about the ever-present danger of death. At one point, according to an excerpt in the British newspaper The Times, the book “will be my memorial if they finally do away with me.” The book is a reminder to Russia and the world, wrote “The New Yorker”.
Widow: “I laughed a hundred times and cried a hundred times”
The “Spiegel” also published excerpts. Other media who wanted to read the book in advance had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and agree not to quote from the book before October 22nd.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Kremlin opponent, has been promoting the book for months. It will be published in 20 languages. Navalnaya was particularly happy that there was also a version in Russian. The Russian website https://patriot.navalny.com has long had information about the book that Navalny began writing after surviving the Novichok attack. In it he traces his path into politics and his motives for fighting against Putin.
“While I was working on the book, I laughed a hundred times and cried a hundred times,” Navalnaya said. She misses Alexei and thinks about him all the time. She hopes that those who liked Alexei, supported him, feel the same feelings. The Kremlin opponent was known for his biting humor even in the most difficult situations. “May this book be a piece of Alexei for each of you.”
Source: Stern
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