Alexei Navalny, Jailed Putin Critic, Suggests President Secretly Adores Him
NewsweekNov 25, 2022
The Facts
A new trial involving jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny, in which he faces multiple counts of extremism that could reportedly extend his prison term by up to three decades, began on Monday in the penal colony where he is being held.
Charged with crimes including financing and publicly inciting extremist activities, as well as "rehabilitating the Nazi ideology," Navalny claimed that the 3,828-page document describing his alleged crimes fails to precisely state what he is accused of.
The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
Navalny's prison sentence is a politically motivated sham and the new trial is just another excuse for the Russian authorities to put him away for life on trumped-up charges. Navalny uncovered evidence of endemic corruption by the Kremlin elite and, despite united calls from the West for Navalny's release without delay, Moscow will not risk the damage his voice could do in undermining Putin's autocratic leadership.
Pro-Russia narrative
Russia's non-systemic political opposition continues to engage in terrorism while the West portrays its actions as heroism. Supporters of Navalny and their consequent organizations have pledged their allegiance to violence and waging war on their own people. These criminals will not be met with open discussion but, rather, brought to immediate justice.
