Patriot by Alexei Navaltny

This is a tragedy in the form of a memoir. Alexei Navalny knew how it would end: “I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison and die here.” He was right. On 16 February 2024, the Russian authorities announced the death of its highest profile political prisoner in colony FKU IK-3, north of the Arctic Circle. He was 47 years old. By the time it was published we definitively knew the outcome--that Putin killed Navalny. He had after all tried once and failed. When Navalny recovered and returned to Russia, everyone knew where it was headed. In the meantime he demonstrated conclusively that the Russian state had put a hit on him. The documentary that chronicles this story is remarkable--it also shows why Navalny was so dangerous for Putin. He was a smart, charismatic and handsome man who was charming, self-effacing, and the leader that Russia needed and arguably at one point at least, deserved. Having watched the documentary that won the Academy Award in 2024 and followed Navalny's return to Russia, his imprisonment, and his slow death there, the front end of this memoir was more gripping for me. It tells Navalny's rise to a much feared opposition leader, which included he and his extended family being targeted by the Russian government. The depth of corruption in Putin's Russia and the corruption it thrives on is well detailed here and he is a good writer to boot. This is a difficult read, and one that is unlikely to change any minds, but well worth reading.