"Patriot" by Alexei Navalny

It was surreal to read this memoir because I know how it ended. Unfortunately, we're living in the timeline where "With this character's death, the thread of prophecy is severed. Restore a saved game to restore the weave of fate, or persist in the doomed world you have created."

I consciously avoided prison memoirs by Russian opposition members (including the USSR period). The reason is simple: until very recently, I closely followed the news about what was happening in Russia—how could I not? After all, it is my country of origin. All the real-life stories about imprisonment, inhumane conditions, torture, etc—have become so natural that you can't say "Russia" without spelling "crimes against humanity" nowadays.

Sadly, I will no longer hear "Hi, this is Navalny" on YouTube. I am glad that I've read this specific book because it answers a few questions about Alexei's early and later life and gives me hope that, at some point, I will be able to fly into my hometown and walk around where I grew up. Alas, one can't do this today without risking arrest.

Even though all the conspiracy theories about what Navalny was were already entirely cut out of my head after his poisoning, the memoir explained two crucial things to me. Firstly, the regime in Russia is dumb and depends on violence and luck. Secondly, Navalny has always been faithful to his words, "authentic" as he would be called today: no conspiracy theories, just a man fighting for our freedoms in an oppressive state.

If anyone wants to support Russia's ideology on the West, I recommend reading "Patriot." Unlike "The Gulag Archipelago," this time, we see stories about Russia's existing country told by the only person capable of changing it.

Russia will be free. Russia will be happy.

Just maybe it will come during our lifetimes.

RIP.