[aerique]

I never understood why he went back to Russia.

[pimlottc]

It's the Office Space Michael Bolton argument: "Why should I abandon my country? He's the one who sucks."

From a practical point of view it may not be wise, but as a principled decision, it sends a very powerful message.

[mewpmewp2]

Thanks, now I've got to watch this ever relevant film again.

[cyrillite]

Martyrdom.

Navalny calculated that this process would be watched and documented through to the very end. He hoped that might be significant, perhaps even sufficient.

[BrandoElFollito]

He will be forgotten in a week, at least by the West.

Do you remember the guy who flew over Belarus and his plane was redirected to seize him? Any news? I do not even remember his name.

Going back to Russia was a stupid move, he could have had much more visibility from the EU.

[mynameisnoone]

Yes. Unfortunately, he miscalculated and threw his life away by failing to appreciate the conditions. Similar to standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square, this was and now proved to be a ineffective and futile act in a country whose populace refuses to stand up to Putin, oppression, or corruption. It's likely Putin will continue to be the de facto "elected" dictator of Russia until he dies and his oligarch pals replace him with someone equally terrible. The Russian people lack the will, organization, and moral courage to overthrow their klepto-plutocrat dictator.

[sparrowInHand]

And now it was used by putin to overshadow ukraine-maidan day. The message is clear. Ukraine is just sideshow, murdered oppossition in mainland, is main-show.

[082349872349872]

in memoriam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpuBgLBrhfo

> Только синие они и не крапа золота.

[1970-01-01]

I have held the exact same question. I don't say this lightly. His decision was stupid. He would've been much more effective as a critic with a Twitter account. You can't criticize the government when you're not free to do so.

[tryauuum]

why would russians care about what some twitter boy happily living in EU has to say?

[neonarray]

It seems stupid, yes. However he would've been hunted the remainder of his life and likely assassinated, regardless. He may have hoped too that by sacrificing himself, he would keep his family safe.

I don't have that strong of a will to give myself over to Putin the way he did. Navalny is immensely brave and principled and while his sacrifice ultimately will likely end in vein, I hope beyond hope that it inspires and motivates those in Russia who prefer Putin be eliminated from power. Time will tell.

[mbs159]

What makes you think that he would not have been killed in a foreign country?

[082349872349872]

Have you heard the metaphor of the chicken and the pig at breakfast time?

I could probably stand in the Krasnaya Ploshchad and yell "Vladimir Zelenskiy Sucks!" without repercussion, but that wouldn't make it effective criticism.

[e12e]

Why stand in front of a tank?

[nomilk]

A brilliant response. Why do anything at one's own expense that could possibly help hundreds of millions?

Today was predictable, but that only accentuates Navalny's bravery. He knew persecution was highly likely, and he did not flinch.

[mynameisnoone]

Mahatma Gandhi doesn't work when the tools of the apparatchik and the people aren't with you, or when the dominant force is unreasonable and disrespects the rule of law.

[lobocinza]

I'd prefer to stay in the back where it's more vulnerable. 100m away from it with a tandem AT weapon ready. But honestly we can't always get what we want.

[lijok]

The reason most people have even heard of Navalny is because he went back to Russia. That move is what caused the western media to pick up the story and run it on the news for months on end. The imagery it produced, videos of him leaving the plane, saying goodbye to his wife, getting arrested, standing trial, were what catapulted the wests exposure to the opposition movement in Russia. It was an incredibly well played calculated move that unfortunately did not pay off because that coward Putin has his finger on the mobile oppression palace 24/7.

[orbital-decay]

Certainly nobody wants to be a martyr. I guess he thought he had a chance at peaceful politics, and at the time it could have been seen as reasonable by a poor planner like him. He had a history of weird blunders, like refusing to resort to violence when it became the only possible solution, or failing the publicly planned protest simply because he didn't account for being detained under a bullshit pretext for a few hours.

[pimlottc]

> Certainly nobody wants to be a martyr.

Some people do. If you believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and you truly believe your death will significantly help others, then maybe you do make that (incredibly hard) decision knowing full well the consequences.

[obscurette]

That's the reason why we have Russia we know today and I'm afraid that we'll see more countries taking this path in coming years. Almost million russians left country during last two years alone. But if everyone against regime leaves, who have to fight for better country? Or do you really think that it's more effective to shout in Twitter?

[woodpanel]

> Almost million russians left country during last two years alone

What is this even supposed to mean?

For reference, 516,000 Germans left their country during the last 2 years [1] and Germany’s population is roughly 60% the size of that of Russia’s

[1] https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Popula...

[soyiuz]

Specifically, he believed he should share in his country's suffering.

[rc_kas]

Those people tried to fight against the concept of fair voting itself.

Navalny on the other hand seem like he had integrity and cared about his fellow countrymen a lot.

[lovasoa]

Navalny didn't go back to Russia because Trump told him to.

[davydog187]

Lmao wow that’s a stretch