An interview with Russian anti-government activist Alexei Navalny (48), who was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biggest political enemy and who recently died mysteriously in prison, was released.
On the 6th (local time), the French daily Liberation and LCI broadcasts first revealed the conversation that Navalny had with Jacques Mer, a member of the Council of Europe at the time, in Berlin, Germany on December 17, 2020.
At the time, Navalny collapsed due to symptoms of Novichok poisoning on a flight to Moscow, Russia, and was transported to Germany for treatment.
“Even if they kill me, nothing will change,” Navalny said in the conversation. “There are other people ready to take my role. “There are millions of people who do not want to live in a country where all power is in the hands of just one person.”
He then claimed, “At least half of Russians want Russia to become like other typical European countries,” and “(President Putin) wants to suppress such ideas and political movements.”
He emphasized that his activities are “not about me, but about the people I represent, or try to represent.”
He also said that the Russian government would never negotiate with him and that they considered him a ‘radical’.
Navalny said at the time that it was unclear when he would be arrested after returning to the country. He expressed his firm intention to return home, saying the Russian authorities wanted him to stay abroad and become “just another immigrant.”
When asked what would happen to the anti-government movement if he was arrested and could not return, he said, “I have already spent a lot of time in prison, so my team members know how to run the organization without me.” He added, “How many people can lead the movement in my place?” “There are more,” he answered.
Mehr, who interviewed Navalny, described him as a “very determined warrior” and “like a block of granite.”
Navalny, who returned to Russia in January 2021, about a month after this interview, was immediately arrested. He died suddenly on the 16th of last month, about three years after being imprisoned. Navalny’s body was handed over to his bereaved family only on the 24th, the ninth day of his death.
Hyewon Lee, Donga.com
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.