I first met Aleksei Navalny toward the end of 2010, during a fellowship he was doing at Yale. It was before he’d go on to lead millions of Russians into the streets of Moscow and other major cities in opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Before his fierce, striking blue eyes graced the covers of magazines and newspapers across the globe. Long before, as is now being reported, he would die in a Russian prison near the Arctic Circle on Friday at age 47.
That day, over lunch, those eyes were filled with warmth and joy as Navalny told stories of his young children learning math and adjusting to life in America. He radiated pride as he spoke about how he and colleagues were using a deep knowledge of Russian law and bureaucracy, as well as viral video, social media, GIFs and other novel techniques, to expose Putin and his cronies’ corruption.
He knew that he was reaching people, giving them permission to question Russia’s leadership and to seek a different path for the future. Of course that influence would only continue to grow in its scale and impact.
Over the years, I have reflected on that day often because of how easy it already was to divine Navalny’s path. He had enormous courage, of course, and a clear sense of purpose. He also had the charisma of a leader whom people wanted to follow, to be a part of his movement, even when, like mine, their politics didn’t necessarily fully align with his.
But he was also already getting under the skin of Putin and his allies. Toward the end of our meal together, a friend asked him whether it was safe for him to return to Russia, whether it might be smarter to continue his work from abroad, whether he was worried that he might be imprisoned when he returned or worse.
His answer was firm. “But there is no other option,” he said. “I have to go home and fight with my fellow Russians, fight for our homeland.”
That fatal decision was one that Navalny would make over and over again in the years since. While he may not see his battle against Putin’s evil to its end, his legacy will be the willingness of his many fellow citizens in Russia to pick it up for him.
