Alexy Navalny knew, had to have known, death would be the outcome of his lifelong endeavor to bring fair democracy to Russia while exposing the corrupt Putin regime. And yet, he returned to Russia from Berlin after being poisoned, yet again.
He knew.
The last time we saw him, though physically drawn and sunken, he was smiling and joking, a couple days before he died. I wonder if, on a spiritual/subconscious level, he knew his lifelong ordeal would soon be over, and his Life Purpose would soon be accomplished.
Courage
Nevalny was born on June 4, 1976, in Butyn, Russia. He studied law and finance at the People’s Friendship University of Russia and graduated in 1998.
He became an anti-corruption activist and gained international recognition as one of the most prominent domestic critics of Russian president Vladimir Putin. He also founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation and published investigations that exposed corruption by high-ranking Russian officials and their associates.
In the midst of systemic political oppression and covert killings, he organized huge political demonstrations and ran for office to advocate for reforms against corruption. His 2017 campaign became a significant political event in Russia’s modern history.
Determination
That same year however, he was twice attacked by unknown assailants with exposure to Zelyonka, a common antiseptic used in Russia, that nearly blinded him.
Then on August 20, 2020, he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. After an emergency landing, he was hospitalized and later evacuated to Berlin where the poisoning was confirmed by five certified laboratories of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Navalny accused Putin, but the Kremlin denied involvement. This prompted the EU and the UK to impose sanctions related to the poisoning.
The US also responded with sanctions imposed on senior Russian officials involved in Navalny’s poisoning with visa restrictions as well as expanded sanctions under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
When he was imprisoned in 2021, it sparked widespread protests across Russia with thousands of detentions. He denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for demonstrations via social media.
Navalny was recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work and dedication to human rights.
Most likely in lieu of presidential elections in March, he was secretly relocated to a penal colony in Siberia late last year which took his team weeks to find him.
Strength
He died mysteriously on February 16, 2024, while imprisoned in Polar Wolf Prison, Kharp, Yamalia, Russia. He was 47.
Nevalny’s death and funeral mobilized thousands of Russians to pay their respects and demonstrate across Russia. At least 45 people were detained for paying tribute to Nevalny according to the monitoring group OVD-Info.
Navalny left behind a wife Yulia, and two children Dasha, 23 and Zahar,15. Yulia has vowed to continue her husbands work for the benefit of the people of Russia.
Though his parents attended the funeral, his wife and children did not out of concerns over police crack downs. His wife Yulia, issued a statement:
“Lyosha [a nickname for Alexy Nevalny], thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the happiness over the last three years. For love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for the fact that you always thought about me.
“I don’t know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don’t know if I can handle this or not, but I will try.”
Nevalny’s daughter, Dasha Nevalnaya said her father will forever remain “an example” to live by, calling him her “role model” and her “hero”.
“You taught me to live by my principles from childhood. To live a worthy life. You gave your life for me, for my mother, for Zakhar (Navalny’s son), for Russia, and I promise you that I will live my life the way you taught me, to make you proud, and most importantly, with the same bright smile on my face,” she said in a farewell note to her father.
As thousands of mourners filed past, some chanted “Thank you for your son” to his parents Lyudmila and Anatoly, sitting near his grave at the cemetery.
After first refusing to turn over Nevalny’s body, his mother embarked on a 14-day quest across Russia’s vast wilderness, above the Arctic Circle to the Siberian penal colony to badger Russian authorities into allowing her to retrieve the body. They finally relented.
Worldwide Impact
Of the many dignitaries who either attended the funeral or issued statements, here are two that reflect the typical sentiment:
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib posted a video of a large crowd chanting Nevalny’s name, along with the caption: “You can’t tame freedom.”
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, “Nevalny’s beliefs will not disappear – ideas cannot be tortured, poisoned or killed. He remains an inspiration for many in Russia and beyond.”
His activism, courage and transparency left a lasting impact on Russian politics and human rights advocacy, and indeed, the consciousness of the world.
Now he is a martyr, an everlasting figure of the irrepressible Heart of Russia, longing for Freedom, Dignity, and Justice.
Love
Probably the most famous example of self-sacrifice is the story of Jesus. According to scripture, Jesus not only knew he would die on the cross, but that he would also endure torture and unimaginable pain in the process.
What was the result that made his sacrifice worth it?
He lived Love, he taught Love and he overcame death through Love. He taught us that Love is Powerful, death is not.
Love is Real, death is not.
Love is eternal, death is merely a transition.
The Greek root word of “martyr” is “witness”. Those who willingly sacrifice their lives for the benefit of others bear witness to the everlasting, enduring, indestructible Energy of Love that is the foundation of the World of Spirit, within which the World of Form exists.
Those who choose to that make the ultimate dramatic demonstration, bear witness to this Truth.
“Do not give up”
The forces of Fear can imprison, torture and kill but nothing can squelch the irrepressible Energy of Love when an act of self-sacrifice has transformed death into Power. Eventually The People will resonate with that indestructible Truth and Power and come together to set right an out-of-balance system.
The years of atrocities committed by the weak, illusory fear-based forces in Russia will, and are, coming to an end. The pendulum will swing the other way.
People are stronger than they think they are, and when they combine their forces built on the Foundation of the Reality of Love, the Powerful Glue that connects everyone, there is nothing that can stop it.
Except for the energy people unwittingly give it, deceit, greed, manipulation and force ultimately lose because it’s based in fear. The sacrificial act of Love exposes the illusion of fear.
Illusion has a Divine Purpose. The World of Form is the place of Contrast so that we can experience World of Spirit concepts like “Courage”, “Forgiveness” and “Self-Sacrifice” that cannot be experienced in the World of Spirit.
As the proverbial “war of good and evil” continues here on Earth, we get to learn in an experiential way the many profound aspects of Love.
Love is a ‘doing thing’, Love is doing what is in the Highest and Best for ALL involved
Huna Wisdom
The theme of self-sacrifice is one that has been celebrated and canonized for centuries. It is the topic of an untold number of stories, books and movies.
When Spock took it upon himself to repair the ship’s warp drive in a radiation filled chamber in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan he said, “I have been, and always shall be, your friend.”
When Obe-Wan Kenobi raised his light saber while battling Darth Vader in Star Wars he said, “You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
“Darth”, death, cannot win because it’s illusion. Sacrificing oneself out of Love to save their friends, is a testament to the Nature of Reality which IS Love.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13
Alexy Nevalny’s final message to The People:
“I’ve got something very obvious to tell you, you’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power, to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes.
“We don’t realize how strong we actually are. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. So don’t be inactive.”
See the trailor for the CNN film, “Nevalny” (HBO Max).
And that is the message the rest of us must remember, evil can only triumph “when good people do nothing”. It is up to us, all of us, to take this message he lived and died for, to heart.
When we see corruption and injustice WE must say something, WE must do something! When Alexy Nevalny died, he gave us his Courage, Determination, Strength and Love.
Let us accept this Gift with honor… and use it!
Aloha