Russia's Official Response to Navalny's Death: Cowardice and Fear
What does fascist Russia have to hide? Mourners across the country are being harassed.
One hour after the media in Russia began reporting the death of the opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the Kremlin issued a rebuke to the usually obedient so-called journalists: Stop reporting so much about his death. The message was, “People die all the time. Why are you making such a big deal over this person’s death.”
An hour later, a friend who works at Gazprom reacted to Navalny’s death with the same response on WhatsApp: “Come on! People die every day.” It is genuinely disappointing that so many formerly smart people have permitted themselves to become such integral players in Putin’s fascist revolution. Without this kind of tacit support, which can be more appropriately called “indifference,” Putin would never have succeeded in destroying modern Russia. With the passing of Navalny, most Russians are calmly acting as my friend: People die, life goes on.
Nonetheless, a few brave Russians remain in this lost country. Red carnations are brightening up the snow across the country, at random parks, at the feet of random statues. Some poems have appeared, and the occasional Navalny slogan is scratched across the frost on walls: “I am not afraid.”
That was yesterday. Today, the police are not tolerating the mourners. The cowardice and fear that characterize modern Russia, its leaders, and the vast majority of its people have resurfaced. Mourners are being dispersed and detained in places like St. Petersburg, the so-called “cultural capital” of Russia. The image above captures this reality. The dark and tantalizing Neva River stretches out behind these cockroaches of Putin’s repression. The river is watching, it always is, as the shameless Putin supporters play their roles in this farce of what used to be a modern civilization.
The young man being lifted by three of Putin’s killers looks really scary. Russians should be ashamed that their “great and powerful” country has to resort to such pitiful acts of repression. The kid being hauled off to the waiting police vans committed no crime. He merely expressed sadness for the passing of one of the few Russian men with balls. This photo, too, is from St. Petersburg. Way to go, St. Pete. It was a stellar day in your long history.
After being reprimanded, the Russian media is now pretty empty of any news about Alexey Navalny. Fontanka.ru, an online news source based out of St. Petersburg, is more critical of the Kremlin than other news sources. There were two or three official announcements of Navalny’s death, and comments on the articles were blocked.
The government does not want anyone talking about it because the mere existence of Alexey Navalny makes Putin even more scared than he usually is. By denying people the opportunity to mourn properly, to vent their disgust of Putin and his hatred for Russia, Putin is getting the last laugh on Navalny: “See, I killed you, and now I will prevent people from recognizing the role you played in Russian history. I will terrorize your followers and drive them too into the grave with you.”
Alexey Navalny is dead. Weak and cowardly Russians — not all Russians but the vast majority — will show up at the theaters and pack the restaurants this evening, acting like nothing happened.
It sickens me to think I once liked these people. If only I had known how weak, shameless, and stupid they really were.
Doesn’t she look scary? Poor “superpower” Russia, so many big, bad wolves are hiding in plain sight.