What you should know about Navalny?

January 5, 2023 thread

What you should know about Alexey Navalny?

1. A far right politician, promoter of hate propaganda
2. Never disowned his extremist agenda or assumed responsibility for it. When being called out, he lied and smeared his critics
3. Enjoyed thorough whitewashing by Moscow & Western media

Navalny started his independent political career in 2007, co-founding an ethnonationalist "Narod" movement and launching the Radio of the Thousand Hills style propaganda. Remember this video, we'll need it later to judge integrity of:

a) Navalny
b) journalists whitewashing him

For context:

The 2000s were an era of the mass nationalist violence in Russia. The golden age of "White trains" with nationalist gangs entering the public transport and attacking those who didn't look sufficiently white. The far right wave was real and Navalny aimed to ride it

This 2011 interview with Albats illustrates how Navalny resorts to lies and smear, when facing the (factually correct) criticism. Remember the cockroaches video? He:
1) denies its existence
2) compares a professor who called him out with Putin's propagandists
3) jokingly demands him being demoted

Notice that a professor did not express any opinion at all. He just pointed out to a verifiable fact - the cockroach video

Still, Navalny refuses to take any responsibility. He lies, denying a verifiable fact. After that he resorts to smear against his critic. Let’s zoom in to the dialogue:

Albats: [I was told] you called the Gastarbeiters cockroaches in the Internet. Yes or no? (laughs)

Navalny: First, no. Second, if this question was asked by Kurginyan or Soloviev [Russian official propagandists] or one of their kind... It's a question of the same nature. Nonsense

Albats: So you are sure that in no video clip, nowhere...

Navalny: If professors are using such sources of information, we'll demote them from tenure

Albats: You can't do that. In the US tenure is a lifetime job

Navalny: With our mass actions we can do anything

That's a joke ofc. But a telling one:
1. Someone points out to a verifiable fact. In this case, Navalny's own video
2. He must be a Putinist propagandist like Kurginyan/Soloviev. Otherwise, why would he be doing that?
3. Demote him via mass action (joke ofc, Navalny knows he can't do anything)

This is a major counterargument against the "reformed Navalny" narrative. Yes, a man can change. But that requires integrity and willingness to assume responsibility for your actions. How probable it is that a persistent and passionate liar could change for the better?

Navalny has enjoyed thorough whitewashing by the reputable Moscow & Western media. Consider this "good and balanced" Masha Gessen’s article published in the New Yorker & recommended by @christogrozev

Masha Gessen describes the cockroach video as an "argument for gun rights"

Systemic whitewashing