An Unrelenting Journalist in the Face of Authority
By Clay Keiser
A Russian man in the quiet Tomsk airport sipped his tea that accompanied his breakfast. He awaited his 2,000-mile flight from the vast Siberian wilderness back to the Russian political center, Moscow. Soon after departing, he began to feel quite ill and rushed to the onboard toilet. His nausea and pain grew worse until he lost consciousness, forcing the flight to land only a couple hundred miles later. An ambulance arrived to take the man to the nearest care center where they were able to stabilize and diagnose him. He had been poisoned with the chemical weapon Novichok (Schwirtz).
These were no ordinary circumstances. The man, Alexei Navalny, has garnered a record in Russia for his political views against the current administration. Navalny concentrates his efforts on corruption by releasing videos on social media as well as organizing and participating in protests. He is known as the origin of the phrase “party of crooks and thieves” referring to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia political party. His passion against the current Russian government can boil over too much, though. For example, he refuses to interview Russian officials (Lozovsky). Though Navalny’s journalistic techniques may be flawed, his work pulling back the corrupt curtain qualifies him as a national hero.
To understand Navalny’s efforts, one must understand the market for corruption in Russia. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union during the 1990s, officials convicted of corruption were met with public outcry. The hopes of a new, reorganized government were strong. Since Putin’s second reelection in 2004, optimism has faded as bribes and kickbacks have increased in size and occasion. In fact, it is now to the point where officials are taking bribes just to do their jobs. As American businessmen negotiate with their Russian counterparts, they must add money under the table to make deals anywhere. Estimates claim that between 25-48% of the Russian GDP is corruption based (Kalinina). Everyone must pay the price of culture, even the few honest citizens that try their best to escape it. Corruption is a lifestyle that defines Russia on every scale.
Putin’s administration is desperate to maintain the status quo. Those who have taken a stance against corruption must face the Russian intelligence and security services. The Soviet-style assassination attempts continue to occur both in and out of Russia. Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer who began working as a British spy, was poisoned in 2018 by the same synthetic Soviet-age nerve agent as Navalny: Novichok. How the Russian government escapes conviction after numerous murderous plots exposes the extent to which they will avoid change. After Navalny’s poisoning, multiple European countries threatened financial sanctions to hopefully begin to delegitimize the current administration (Schwirtz). Some EU members hope their pressure and investigations can convince the Russian public to reach the point of action.
Navalny’s political experience aids him as he creates dissidence throughout Russia. He began his career in 1999 working for the liberal opposition party, Yabloko; however, his nationalist views were the root of his expulsion in 2007. His views champion Russia because of its limitless potential, though, his unwavering love for Russia leaves little room for distraction. Despite this expulsion, his background in liberal and nationalist politics means that he can appeal to both sides of the political spectrum. After his time with Yabloko, the future opposition leader found work in a small Muscovite law firm. There, Navalny purchased shares in corporations linked closely with the state. His position as stockholder allowed him access to the companies’ records, meetings, and leadership. This access marked the establishment of his investigative work to reveal the oligarchy’s criminal activity. In 2011, Navalny established the Anti-Corruption Foundation which has granted him more resources to investigate and newscast the nation’s corruption status (Berger). His most recent work circumvents traditional media allowing him to release his fervor without restraint.
Navalny has stayed current with his methods of reaching the public. Since 2006, he has used the neutrality of the Internet to protect his speech in the form of blogs, films, videos, and newscasts (Berger). His YouTube account, under the Cyrillic spelling of his name (Алексей Навальный), has amassed more than four million subscribers and almost 820 million views. His channel posts multiple times per month and walks viewers through his theories based on documental evidence. The most popular video on Navalny’s channel is titled, “Don’t Call him Dimon,” and exposed the former Russian Prime Minister of embezzlement (Навальный). This video shocked the public because Medvedev’s reputation was that of a humble, crime-free man. The popularity of his videos is due not only because they are politically charged, but also because he uses comical breaks and vernacular. Despite the informative nature of his videos, Navalny and his team do not always follow traditional journalistic measures to prevent bias.
Between a journalist and a political leader, Navalny strikes a balance. His YouTube channel and dedication to spread the truth coupled with his political ambitions make Navalny unique. In the past, Navalny denounced journalists for not being radical enough. He once tweeted that the Financial Times deserved “disappointment of the year” because they interviewed the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov (Reyter). Clearly, he shares no sympathy with his opposition to the point that he cannot associate them even through interviews. While Navalny may let emotions prevent him from interviewing the opposing side, it is what helps him stay afloat and continue his work. The Anti-Corruption Foundation and its leader dare to speak out against the Putin regime in ways that no Russian journalist does. Their audacity is based in the obligation to expose and spread the truth from a tax-paying citizen’s perspective.
However politically motivated Navalny is, his life as an official politician seems unlikely. His short criminal history bars him from running for any type of Russian political office. Officials have arrested Navalny before, once for inciting an anti-government protest and another time for fraud. When he was arrested and eventually convicted of fraud against the French cosmetics company Yves Roche, the European Court of Human Rights ruled the verdict arbitrary (Berger). Despite this successful appeal, Navalny still cannot become officially involved in Russian politics. This only goes to show the lengths to which the current administration will go to prevent change.
Alexei Navalny is a true hero in the realm of Russian politics. While he may have problems separating his passion from his journalistic career, it shows his commitment to anti-corruption in the name of the public. He has faced an assassination attempt, arrest, and jail time, but stays strong. Though Navalny may not be able to directly change the Russian political landscape by election, his work quasi-journalistic career still has fruit to bear.
Works Cited
“Алексей Навальный.” YouTube, 6 July 2013, www.youtube.com/c/АлексейНавальный.
Berger, Miriam. “How Navalny Combined Protests and Anti-Corruption Campaigns to Take on the Kremlin.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 22 Aug. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/08/22/how-navalny-combined-protests-anti-corruption-campaigns-take-kremlin/.
Kalinina, Alexandra. Corruption in Russia as a Business. 29 Jan. 2013, imrussia.org/en/nation/376-corruption-in-russia-as-a-business.
Lozovsky, Ilya. “How Alexei Navalny Exposed Russian Corruption.” OCCRP, 21 Aug. 2020, www.occrp.org/en/investigations/how-alexei-navalny-exposed-russian-corruption.
Reyter, Svetlana. “Between Navalny and the Press ‘Anti-Corruption Foundation’ Spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh Defends Her Team’s Investigative Work.” Meduza, Meduza, 31 July 2020, meduza.io/en/feature/2020/07/31/between-navalny-and-the-press.
Schwirtz, Michael. Aleksei Navalny Was Poisoned at His Hotel, His Team Says. 17 Sept. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/world/europe/aleksei-navalny-poisoning-water-bottle-russia.html.
