Those you named

Sadly, Alexei Navalny has died in his Siberian prison colony, further dimming the hopes of regime change in Russia. In the global media coverage, a photo taken at the 2019 Duma elections of him walking, seemingly healthy, with his family stuck with me. One year before, Anna and I had been to St Petersburg and, tense as those days seemed at the time, it is difficult to grasp how much the world has changed since. For all his possible shortcomings, Navalny was a true leader figure, and it is telling that Putin never dared to say his name, instead referring to him in convoluted ways like “those you named”.

Here in Gothenburg, I woke up with a really sore throat so instead of a planned expedition to Hönö, I will stay at home marking exams.