Alexei Navalny died last week in a Siberian prison camp, where he was serving a 30 year sentence. He was an outspoken critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
One must notice how often critics of Putin mysteriously perish. Most recently we note the deaths of Navalny and Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian general who challenged Putin on his prosecution of the Ukraine war. The general died in a plane crash.
History is full of political and military leaders who execute voices of dissent. Such murders create enemies, and the brutal leader must stay ahead of the enemy list.
I know hardly anything about Navalny or Prigozhin. But a child can see the pattern of killing enemies. It looks like might makes right. And they say that history is written by the winners. So Putin can have all the Russian history books tell the story of his bold leadership, fighting NATO and the West, while unifying the people of Russia and expanding their territory.
I have to wonder, if Putin succeeds in unifying Russia through the blood of dissenters, what kind of society will that create? If the leader uses any means to silence every critic, what will happen in Russian business deals? Russian classrooms? Russian families? Russian churches? Compassion, empathy, and love will look like quaint storybook themes.
Putin may retain his power, but it looks like he has long lost his soul.
