Alexei Navalny and the Russian Opposition Movement: Will Love Prove Stronger Than Fear?
Photo by Liza Pooor on Unsplash. Public domain.
In the controversy surrounding Alexei Navalny’s governmental criticism, the power dynamic between Putin and his fiercest opposition candidate may seem clear. It is Navalny who has spent months recovering from Novichok poisoning, whose supporters are being arrested on an unprecedented scale and who will likely face years of imprisonment. But increasing pressure for Navalny’s release, both among the discontented Russian populace and the international community, make it unlikely that Putin and his allies will emerge from the controversy unscathed. Putin may not have suffered Novichok poisoning, but his inability to silence the uproar around opposition candidate Navalny may prove equally toxic to his political career.
The very corruption of the Kremlin which has angered so many during Navalny’s trial is what fuelled Navalny to start expressing governmental criticism over a decade ago through social media. In particular, Navalny emphasised the economic dishonesty of the major firms in the hands of the government, information gleaned through buying portions of the businesses himself. He increasingly combined criticism of what he saw as Russia’s economic failure with political action against the authorities, preparing for the 2020 regional elections.
Ironically, Putin is using accusations of the very crime Navalny holds against the Kremlin – fraud – to disarm his opponent. These charges were used as justification when the Kremlin refused to allow Navalny to run for president in 2018, and are being used again now to legitimise his prison sentence. The Russian government brought Navalny to trial for neglecting to adhere to a sentence he received in 2014. Presenting himself to the authorities at periodic intervals was a requirement Navalny was expected to adhere to if he was to avoid imprisonment. Yet the Kremlin made this an insurmountable task in the autumn of last year, when Navalny experienced his near-fatal encounter with Novichok. After Navalny’s initial hospitalization in Omsk, it was the German medical authorities who were entrusted with the continuation of Navalny’s treatment. In contrast to Omsk, the results of the German examination of Navalny’s condition unambiguously pointed to Novichok as the catalyst of the opposition candidate’s sudden illness while flying to Moscow.
The response from political actors around the world was one of horror. The Russian government’s dismissal of the accusations of administering Navalny’s near-fatal dose of Novichok has failed to alleviate international concerns that the Kremlin intended to eliminate the opposition candidate for good. Leading Russian bureaucrats who are thought to have participated in the crime are no longer welcome within the European Union. These tensions have only been exacerbated since Navalny was imprisoned after coming back to Russia two months ago, with his trial and sentence proving to be a source of severe friction between Russia and other foreign actors. Severe disapproval of the Kremlin’s arrest of the opposition candidate has been expressed by nations across the globe, including the US, UK, Japan and Canada in addition to the EU member states.
The Kremlin, however, is determined to strike back, declaring in December its intention to prevent certain representatives of the European Union from travelling to Russia. Last weekend, Putin turned the tables and made Russia appear the innocent victim in the international strife. This interview portrayed the controversy surrounding Navalny as a spiteful Western-European assault on the Kremlin, supposedly out of jealousy that Russia had so successfully managed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Another way the Kremlin has made its resentment known is through its removal of Swedish, Polish and German representatives from their embassies in Russia, an act which led to the subsequent dismissal of the Russian diplomats from the three countries in question. In addition, when Josep Borrell travelled to Moscow to express the EU’s disapproval of the Kremlin’s treatment of Navalny, the negotiations ended in a stalemate. Most recently, the European Court of Human Rights’s pronouncement demanding the Kremlin liberate Navalny was dismissed by the Russian government.
But EU officials are not alone in their disapproval of Moscow’s actions. Putin faces another threat, one which could prove to be even more dangerous to his position – the anger of the Russian people. Furious at the Kremlin’s imprisoning and sentencing of the opposition candidate, they have come together at demonstrations to make their discontent known to the authorities. The Kremlin’s suppression of these rallies has only heightened EU-Russia tensions. Using the seriousness of the current Coronavirus situation to justify their actions, the Russian authorities are also prosecuting those of Navalny’s supporters who instigated the mass gatherings. Yet the opposition movement has proven to be resilient, finding new ways to express its discontent. Coming together to recite poems laden with political significance and lighting candles in their back gardens on Valentine’s Day may not seem particularly subversive compared to the scale of the mass demonstrations held previously. But the message, as expressed online by Navalny’s supporters, is clear: #LoveIsStrongerThanFear.
It is becoming increasingly clear, then, that Putin can no longer afford to dismiss the opposition movement. Navalny’s arrest has heightened pressure from both the international community and the populace at home for a more open, honest political climate in Russia. Corruption and censorship, Navalny’s supporters argue, have characterised Putin’s regime for too long. For them, there is only one way to combat a political climate that is even more toxic than Novichok: by proving that love really is stronger than fear.
