Excerpts from Russian opposition leader Navalny’s memoirs reveal that he knew he would die in prison

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny listens to a question during an interview on the radio station Echo Moskvy (Echo of Moscow) in Moscow, Russia, Monday, April 8, 2013. (Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Excerpts from a memoir written by the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny revealed that he believed he would die in prison.

The New Yorker magazine published the excerpts on Friday in anticipation of the Oct. 22 release of “Patriot.”

Navalny was President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest and most prominent enemy and campaigned relentlessly against official corruption in Russia. He died in February in a remote Arctic prison while serving a 19-year sentence on several charges, including leading an extremist group, which he said were politically motivated.

He was jailed after returning from Germany in 2021, where he was recovering from a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin, and has since been given three prison sentences. Russian officials have vehemently denied their involvement in both the poisoning and his death.

“Patriot” was announced in April by publisher Alfred A. Knopf, who called it the late politician’s “last letter to the world.”

According to Knopf, Navalny began working on the book while recovering from the poisoning and continued writing it in Russia, both inside and outside prison.

Describing his coping strategies during his captivity, Navalny said he would “imagine as realistically as possible the worst that could happen. And then (…) accept it.”

For him, this was dying in prison.

“I will spend the rest of my life in prison and die here,” he wrote on March 22, 2022.

“There will be no one to say goodbye to… All anniversaries will be celebrated without me. I will never see my grandchildren again.”

Although he had accepted this fate, Navalny’s memoirs reflect a resolute stand against official corruption in Russia.

“My approach to the situation is certainly not one of contemplative passivity. From here I try to do everything I can to end authoritarianism (or, more modestly, to contribute to ending it),” he also wrote on March 22, 2022.

In a published excerpt dated January 17, 2024, a month before his death, Navalny answers the question from his fellow inmates and prison guards: “Why did you come back?”

“I don’t want to give up or betray my country. If your beliefs mean anything, you must be willing to stand up for them and make sacrifices if necessary,” he wrote.

In addition to capturing the isolation and challenges of his captivity, Navalny’s writing is also notable for its humor. The deceased dissident talks about a bet with his lawyers about the length of a new prison sentence: “Olga expected eleven to fifteen years. Vadim surprised everyone with his prediction of exactly twelve years and six months. I guessed seven to eight years and was the winner.”

He also marveled at the absurdity of having to sit for hours on a wooden bench under a portrait of Putin as a ‘disciplinary activity’.

Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement released by the publisher in April that the book was a testament not only “to Alexei’s life, but also to his unwavering commitment to the fight against the dictatorship,” adding that sharing his story would inspire others to stand up for what is right and never lose sight of the values ​​that really matter.”

She also said that the memoir has already been translated into eleven languages ​​and will “definitely” be published in Russian.