‘He Didn’t Want to Leave Russians Alone with Putin’ — A Q&A with an Alexei Navalny Campaigner
‘He Didn’t Want to Leave Russians Alone with Putin’ — A Q&A with an Alexei Navalny Campaigner
Dmitrii Kovegin, who volunteered for two of Navalny’s political campaigns, shares his thoughts on this grave day
“My message for the situation when I’m killed is very simple: don’t give up.”—Alexei Navalny
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it - always.”—Mahatma Gandhi
“The day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate—when a war will be called a war, and a usurper a usurper; when those who unleashed the war rather than those who tried to stop it, will be recognized as criminals… This day will come as inevitably as spring follows even the coldest winter. And then our society will be horrified by the terrible crimes… Even today, even in the darkness surrounding us, even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people.”—Vladimir Kara-Murza
“The only thing Putin’s regime knows how to do is steal, kill, and lead wars, and this regime needs to be stopped if we want peace to be restored and repression to end.”—Evgenia Kara-Murza
“I feel badly for Putin. He’s damned. He’ll wind up like Mubarak, Gaddafi, and Ben Ali- it’s gonna end badly for him.”—Boris Nemtsov
“Looking inside Putin’s Palace, you will understand the president of Russia is mentally ill.”—Alexei Navalny
On days like today, I do not know anything else other than to work. I allowed myself to sit in my grief for a few hours — knowing that Alexei Navalny would die when he returned to Russia does not make the news any easier.
“He didn’t want to leave Russians alone with Putin.”—Dmitrii Kovegin
The ‘official’ report from the Russian Federal Prison Service said Navalny lost consciousness while taking a walk. He was serving a 19-year sentence on faked up charges of extremism, and had been recently moved to a penal colony to be closer to brutal weather conditions.
He was 47, and to those who ask me why the opposition leader and anti-corruption activist would return to Russia when he could have stayed in the West after being poisoned, I say, because that is what a courageous man does.
I knew when I posted this image two years ago that they were killing him. His courage was a threat to Putin’s control. That he was beautiful and flawed, admired globally for his bravery, likely made Putin sick with envy, like the queen in Snow White — whose jealousy and rage made her ugly and vengeful.
As Anne Applebaum wrote in the Atlantic today, “Even behind bars Navalny was a real threat to Putin, because he was living proof that courage is possible, that truth exists, that Russia could be a different kind of country.”
“Understanding the nature of evil is not enough: everyone who is on good side needs to take action.”—Dmitrii Kovegin
I have asked my friend Dmitrii Kovegin who worked on two of Navalny’s political campaigns to share his thoughts with us today. And here is his response to my questions. I am leaving the copy raw and untouched. It’s better that way.
HSC: You knew him and volunteered with his campaigns. Can you tell us about that.
Dmitrii Kovegin: I became familiar with Navalny’s anti-corruption investigations in 2009. All the years after I watched after his political activities. I worked as a volunteer on two of his election campaigns: Moscow’ Mayor Election in 2013 and during his Presidential rally at 2017 in Orenburg. Navalny definitely was a great guy. Sorry, but I don’t want to say about him in a past time. Navalny was one who broke the TV narrative about him. The ladies over 55 easily fall in love in him from first sight, if he will be shown realistically on National TV. Navalny is a tall guy. He smiles a lot, and he likes to create a bond with others. He is a huge ambassador of Global Democracy. He supported Juan Guaido, and Belarus protests. Navalny tried to bring the standards, traditions, and practices of democratic elections to the Russia. It means, he visited Russian cities and met voters during the rally. He started his Presidential campaign more than 1 year before the Election Day. It’s an American standard, but it does not exist in Russia political tradition. Usually, candidates open their campaigns three months prior to elections. The candidate promotion are limited with road billboards, TV commercials, TV debates, and rare candidates’ 10-15 offices in major cities for collection of signatures-petitions. Russia has more than 80 regions. Navalny planned to visit almost all of them with local voters rallies. Alexei Navalny was open to hear the voter’s ideas and criticism. I liked him so much. Navalny always understand the danger of Putin’s power for Russia and democracy.
HSC: What impact did he have on the Russian people?
DK: From 1999, with help of propaganda, in general, the Russian society chose for itself to be apolitical. Partly because it was in condition of sleep and startle. Navalny pulled out of a state of learned helplessness the active office white-collar class. Before him there are no successful grassroot-campaigns and mass-civil activism movements in Russia. Alexei Navalny was successful with promotion of his gold standard moral principles and will be remembered by Russians mostly because he constantly told everyone: ‘I’m not afraid, and you shouldn’t be.’ He was a courageous one. Navalny motivated the generation of Y (millennials) to wake up from the lethargic dreams into political actions, and during the Presidential rally of 2017-18 he attracted many people from Z-generation (first zoomers before 2003) to civil and political activism. Navalny showed to the rest passive part of Russian society the hypocrisy and cruelty of KGB-minded Putin.
HSC: What impact did his work have on the Russian people?
DK: Alexei Navalny was loved to remind to others the catchy phrase from the Soviet TV adaptation of ‘Three musketeers’: ‘One for all, and all for one’. Exercising democracy: because of Navalny’s work people wanted to start going to mass protest, regularly as they are going to work. Through methodical and long-term partnership work with other oppositionists, Navalny team prepared an army of independent Election Observers. Alexei showed that people can and want to unite even in such a society with a high degree of distrust to each other. You should understand the settings that the whole system worked against Navalny, where F.S.S. aka FSB always works to separate any unity/community/union.
HSC: If elections were free and fair in Russia, would he be president?
DK: For the moment of Election 2018 he definitely had strong chances to become a Russian president. His Presidential campaign has a huge influence on people, and it made an important impression in minds of voters in regions of Russia. Navalny was able to break through to voters despite his negative image from television. His was banned on TV and Russian TV reporters mention him only in a bad way. With social media, he won over the people despite the TV ban because people started to recognize his name and were interested in his agenda on the streets. Navalny at that moment had a strong economical program and pool of experienced experts-advisors. It was a contrast with regular image on city’s streets, where almost no offices of real opposition parties across the country.
HSC: I believe Boris Nemtsov could have been president if he had not been assassinated. What do you think?
DK: Boris Nemtsov had a more bright personality on TV, and he was more famous for older generation. He could become a president at 2022. But as for 2017, Navalny had his own party of supporters, volunteers, etc. Also, probably Boris Nemtsov didn’t want to run against Alexei because they were allies. Since 2011 Navalny was a moral leader of Russian opposition. Boris Nemtsov had a kind heart and we miss him a lot.
HSC: With Nemtsov’s protege Kara-Murza in prison, do you get the sense that the Russian opposition to Putin is now so weak it can’t be effective or do you think the death of Navalny will mobilize people?
DK: They are both, the death of Navalny and Kara-Murza in prison, created a devastating effect on democracy supporters in Russia and outside of Russia. By my mind, Ukrainians are absolutely right when they criticized the Russian opposition ideas. Right now we don’t have leaders with us. We don’t have an expert community for the discussing necessary reforms of the Future Russia. Russian oppositionist should be busy with projects. I see grass roots Russian opposition campaigns for supporting Ukraine. Also we need to discuss the ideas and shape of future reform of institutions, lustration, and many other things that have a practical and an urgent sense when time will come to future democratic Russia. We need help of experts and historians in each field, we can’t just go to protest on the streets without solutions.
HSC: When I heard Tucker Carlson say all leaders kill people, it signaled to me that he was grooming his base not to feel anything when another murder occurred. How do you see that?
DK: Yes, you are right. Tucker uses a tactic of ‘bringing to different reality’. In general, Carlson works for enabling violence and export ‘The Culture of Violence’ to American society. He asks Americans close eyes to injustice. This is an extremely dangerous statement for the media personality who has a sufficient base of followers. It is dangerous for National Security because it changes moral values in society. You know much more than I do about fascism. But I was curious to know from firsthand, and I spoke with an American with German ancestors roots what was the reason. I know her as a person with good moral values and principles. She told me that she thought about it a lot, and her answer was: ‘The roots of fascism grew inside the lack of accountability of their own leaders from the raising of fascist ideology. The German society closed the eyes on their actions and words, if they were taken/said by ‘Germans Aryans.’
HSC: Putin killed Navalny. There is no other way to look at it. Putin along with Russian intelligence kills anyone who opposes him and the regime and who is influential. Anna Politkovskaya, Nemtsov etc. I believe Navalny went back to Russia knowing he would be imprisoned and likely die because he was courageous and believed in his purpose. Why do you think it was it so important to him to return?
DK: People will continue to ask this question. He answered many times that he didn’t want to leave Russians alone with Putin. Probably, it was a gesture of moral support for every one of his followers — ‘don’t give up.’ After his comeback, he liked often to say ‘I don’t give up, and you shouldn’t’. I can’t criticize him because at least my escape became possible after that. I’m grieving as many others, and I wish that he will be with us here.
HSC: What would you like people to know about him?
DK: Alexei Navalny was a good friend, he never scared competitors, and he liked to have strong good-faith politicians around him. He was the best one by different reasons and many qualities, one of the brightest. He liked debates so much, I hope that debate-clubs across the globe will look on his person as example of bright potential and will name themselves in his honor. Back in the day, Navalny was an organizer of debates in Moscow. As I know, the debates are part of work in his team. Alexei was always eager to learn. The small cozy libraries in his name will honor his supporters. He was a hope for many people in Russia. He was very patient with good people, but he hated any dishonesty in words and actions without exceptions. He was strong with values, and refused the future cooperation with two-faced persons. This is one of the reasons why Putin persecuted and finally killed him.
HSC: Do you wish to tell people about your poisoning, and how sick Putin and Russian intelligence is — so sick that they have people poisoned?
DK: Yes, but I don’t know how to start. The Putin mindset is: ‘if it works, it should be used’. He doesn’t look on moral values. He looks only to someone who can stop him by action. This is only way to prevent Putin to be aggressive. I was an activist on a presidential campaign, but Putin was scared by announced upcoming peaceful revolution that was appointed on 5.11.2017. I suppose, his guys told him that Navalny election campaign is secretly connected with these civil protest movement of Vyatcheslav Maltsev. Police detained many activists of this organization, but also the Russian law-enforcement visited the most active members of Navalny Presidential campaign. Putin wanted to prevent Navalny from trips across Russia. Navalny was detained multiple times. At the same time Putin sent a team of poisoners to travel with Navalny in his trips. FSB practiced the poisoning for a long time, but the society didn’t put a lot of attention to these cases. Small activists died inside countryside of huge Russia. Who will look after them? My friends and I were poisoned at the end of November 2017. Scary part for me: my friends wasn’t volunteers in political campaign. Their political activity was to come to protests for defending democracy. That’s all, they was poisoned just because of me. You can read the testimony in my Twitter account because this is interview about Navalny, and I can’t take your time. Christo Grozev and Navalny’s investigation put a light on Putin’s criminal actions. Russians and the World owed them for revealing scary important information.
HSC: Why do you think the world allows Putin to keep murdering his own citizens?
DK: The World is relaxed about Putin because it doesn’t understand the proximity of its own misfortune. Moreover, the leader of the democratic part of the world is in greater responsibility than other country leaders. ‘But to everyone to whom much was given, much will be required from him...’ (The Bible verses) Mitt Romney told in his biography excerpt in Atlantic’s article that democracy is unnatural for human nature. If he’s right, then all the more reason that we should put effort and encourage others to do the same for preserving and inspiring a global democratic world order, as well as preserving democracy at home.
HSC: If you could do anything today to make the world a better place, what would you do?
DK: I want that politicians keep their words. We need to decide who should teach people to watch over politician’s accountability. I want that people exercise this type of behavior: demand not only from opposite political party, but from your own, too. No one is above the Law. Restoring or establishing in developing countries an Institution of Reputation. Teach people how to help others, and I believe to better start from supporting your own people who defend democracy. Educate the voters that they finally become educated and aware citizens. That will help in future politicians to make right decisions. Invest in developing of small communities. Enforce the journalist’s communities and provide a pass way for financial independence for independent journalists. We are needed the new ideas and concepts when professionals think through cybersecurity comprehensively for the citizens. Inspect and improve them. For Russians I wish that they have an open heart and desire to exercise democracy. I want that we will be able to see a peaceful prosperous democratic Ukraine free from Russian oppression. I hope to watch a biopic TV show about Navalny with Pete Holmes starring in it. Don’t feed the monsters and trolls. Understanding the nature of evil is not enough: everyone who is on good side needs to take action.—Dmitrii Kovegin for Bette Dangerous, Feb. 17, 2024
“Understanding the nature of evil is not enough: everyone who is on good side needs to take action.”—Dmitrii Kovegin
When I wrote my report on dissident power, I wrote that the strongmen are trying to destroy our empathy.
By killing Navalny, I would like to think Putin has hastened his own demise.
I asked Dmitrii to tell me his favorite Navalny quote, and he said:
“Don’t be idle, a toad won’t throw itself off the oil pipe.”
Everyone on the side of good needs to take action.
Today at a security conference in Munich, Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya said:
“If it’s true, I want Putin and his whole entourage, his friends and his government to know that they will be held responsible for everything they have done to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon.”
I write about monsters, American monsters who have been doing Putin’s bidding.
I want them to know that they will be held responsible for everything they have done to my country.
I would like to think this day will come very soon.
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