The American magazine The New Yorker published excerpts from the personal diaries of Alexei Navalny when he was imprisoned after returning to Russia. In them, the politician reflects on the difficulties of life in prison and continuing political activities, as well as pondering the "most negative scenario." Excerpts from the book "Patriot," which will be released in a few weeks, were also published by Der Spiegel, The Times, and El Pais.
While imprisoned after returning to Russia, Alexei Navalny, who had several criminal cases added to him in the colony and was even sentenced on several, reflected on his term as "life imprisonment." "I knew from the very beginning that I would be imprisoned for life — either until the end of my life or until the end of the regime's life," he wrote in March 2022. At the same time, he noted in his diaries that the FSIN system is inhumane and extremely cruel. "Everything you read about the horrors and fascist crimes of our prison system is true. Only one correction needs to be made: the reality is even worse."
The opposition leader recounts in his diaries that at first, the thought that he might die in prison and his body would be buried in an unknown place drove him into a rage. But he accepted the "most negative scenario" and then discussed it with his wife Yulia. "During her first long visit, we walked down the corridor and talked in a place as far away as possible from the sound-accompanied cameras that are placed everywhere. I whispered in her ear: "Listen, I don't want to sound dramatic, but I think there's a high probability that I'll never get out of here. Even if everything starts to collapse, they'll get rid of me at the first sign that the regime is collapsing. They'll poison me." "I know," she nodded in a calm and firm voice. "I've thought about it myself," Navalny recalled.
Alexei Navalny's autobiography "Patriot" will be available on October 22 in 36 countries in 26 languages, and it is now available for pre-order.
*In Russia, included in the list "terrorists and extremists."