
The Navalny Show
As he returned to Moscow after months recovering from a nerve agent attack, Alexei Navalny released a remarkable YouTube video – and with it, sowed the seeds for a new Russian revolution by meme
Monday 8 March 2021
Russia’s opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned, then imprisoned, by the Kremlin. But as millions spread his message online, what next for “Navalnyism’?
Just months ago, Alexei Navalny was in a coma after Kremlin secret agents inserted a deadly poison into the seams of his underpants in a Siberian hotel room. It was the stuff of Hollywood, and it seemed that perhaps the opposition leader’s time had come. He had been, after all, a credible threat to Vladimir Putin’s rule – his most vociferous critic, lauded widely as a hero, and supported by increasing numbers of young Russians. But Navalny survived. And then, he fought back. In just a few short months since his rehabilitation, he has released a remarkable YouTube video revealing Kremlin corruption and directly ridiculing Putin. It has inspired thousands of Russians to march in the streets. We have entered a new era of Russian opposition – one that exists and thrives online, and feeds on meme culture. In this Tortoise File, we investigate the spread of digital “Navalnyism”, and we ask: will his imminent imprisonment do anything to dampen this movement for change?
Basia Cummings, Editor
As he returned to Moscow after months recovering from a nerve agent attack, Alexei Navalny released a remarkable YouTube video – and with it, sowed the seeds for a new Russian revolution by meme
Monday 8 March 2021
Tuesday 9 March 2021
Wednesday 10 March 2021
Thursday 11 March 2021