- Navalny’s death will bring new forms of aggression from the West, swiftly followed by expected responses from Russia which, many hoped, would be interested in a compromise.
- The death of the Wagner Chief Prigozhin invited blanket condemnation from the West which once viewed him as a terrorist but soon after his death portrayed him as a rebel for a glorious cause.
- In the next few days, there will be many more attempts made by the Western media and governments to change public perception of the public against the Russian President and the Kremlin.
One of Putin’s optically highlighted opponents Alexei Navalny has suddenly died in the prison he was held in. Authorities in Moscow claimed he suddenly fell ill and died while being given medical help. It’s sudden because only yesterday he had appeared in court via video call.
His death, though unfortunately mysterious garnered a predictable response which reminded me of the Matrix film where a black cat walked past and the protagonist Mr Anderson (Neo) saw it twice, indicating a repeat occurrence which however meant a change in the code of the matrix stimulation. This is a pivotal scene in the film as a change in the usual consequence is required to be tackled by people there. But how does it relate to Navalny’s death?
Well, because the death of Putin’s opposition isn’t new and that itself plays a part in his profile as a ruthless leader. But the reaction is a repeat of it. We must recall how the death of the Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin invited blanket condemnation from the West which once viewed him as a terrorist but portrayed him as a freedom fighter and a rebel with a glorious cause after his death. The change of the usual limited global awareness around him through thousands of tweets and hundreds of channels is playing its part in the death of the former opposition leader of Russia too.
The only difference is, it was an ongoing project with Navalny for years. A hero who survived the alleged poisoning using novichok and dared to be court-arrested by the Russian authorities, knowing well that there were allegations against him for being an asset of the West’s intelligence apparatus, much like the Ukrainian president. The president of the USA, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and most Western nations and their officials have come out declaring that Vladimir Putin is the murderer and all must be done to help Ukraine in its war with Russia.
As deja vu continues, Navalny’s death will bring new forms of aggression from the West, swiftly followed by similar responses from the Russian state which, many hoped, would be interested in a compromise. As I write this, protests have broken out in Yerevan Armenia, Georgia, and Warsaw and it will spread in other Western nations. The chatter on Twitter is already abuzz with Putin trending on top in India and other countries. In the next few days, there will be many more attempts made by the Western media and the governments to change the perception of the public against the Russian President and the Kremlin. It’s evident by the sheer attempts made by both the press and the diplomatic efforts of the West.
Therefore it’s with the significant amount of perceived instability around such events that I hope readers and others who follow these patterns keep an eye on how the next few days transcend. There’s a debate around the passage of a bill in the US that will ensure more money in the coffers of Ukraine and it will most likely get affected because of this event today. The vociferous rivals of Tucker Carlson will call for his head after he made some small clips around the Russian Federation and whatever his attempts were, they will most likely be nullified.
Warmongering is the basic rule around war and despite advances in technology, not much has changed on that particular front. So heed caution and always check and process before jumping the gun. More to come after this. The world is a boiling cauldron of chaos and this won’t stop the eventual arrival of another global war.
(Anhad Jakhmola is a postgraduate scholar in international relations. He has his undergraduate degree in history and is pursuing his Ph.D. in Defence and Strategic Studies. He is a columnist for many portals and is a keen public speaker in debates and discussions. Views expressed are author’s own)
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