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Comment by carlos-menezes | Hacker News Reader

I don't understand why he went back to Russia --- on principle, maybe? Regardless, it wasn't worth it. He could and should have stayed in the West and pumped out anti-regime content: he would have achieved much more.

Rest in peace.

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> I don't understand why he went back to Russia --- on principle, maybe?

He was a Russian politician and was intending to stay one. In the eyes of Russian public opinion, a politician who fled abroad - opposition or not - is not a politician anymore, but some foreign guy living in comforts of some Germany or England, either on money stolen from Russians or on the payroll of CIA, not worth listening to. Interests of polit-emigrants and interests of Russians in Russia do not align, and the general public knows that.

This is why Navalny returned and Yashin never left.

> In the eyes of Russian public opinion, a politician who fled abroad - opposition or not - is not a politician anymore

Public gives no shit where politician sits unless they have influence on politics.

I confirm the previous poster: in the eyes of even oppositional public those who fled loose credibility -- at least that they can't call people to the streets under SWAT batons; and also living abroad they lose sense of what matters and events are important.

It could be an argument, but no politician inside Russia call people to the streets either. Navalny abroad had more influence than all other opposition personas in sum.

If we think why they chose it purely rationally, I suppose he and his team foresaw him be arrested, but expected the people to rebel.

Earlier murder attempt by the state, plus an arrest afterwards -- were still arguably unprecedented (Nemtsov 2015 murder being a bit different), plus his all-in investigation on Putin's palace, could theoretically end people's patience, and that protests would have been even broader than in Belarus in 2020.

Plus, his team were all die-hards, no skeptics.

That was all-in move, and it turned out wrong.

I also went to those protests, it was -23°C, and there were more SWAT police than us. I got a harsh reminder as well of the sad truths sociologist Yuri Levada had described in his work "Simple Soviet man".

The day he returned, he released a video about a $1B palace built by Putin with stolen money. Maybe he (mistakenly) believed people will rise to his cause upon seeing the video.

He answered that question: "I have my country and I have my principles, and I'm not willing to give up either."

Dying like that seems like a computer who can't avoid but to crash when it hits a single wrong bit on an ocean of memory. Why? Why choose rigid principles that might lead you straight to doom? Why people think this is honorable? His enemy lost nothing, and the allies left behind have to fight with less men.

I'm not advocating for what Navalny did, just explaining his point of view, according to which if you're not ready to die for your principles then you have no principles — just opinions. Again: his words, not mine.

What if my principle is to survive?

That may be yours (and mine), but it wasn't his.

Then your principle would be logically unsound, according to Navalny.

Because if he left, the propaganda would have easily portrayed him as a coward. Staying in Russia gave him the best chance he had to win over the populous.

We're talking about his story now.

His death and the circumstances will remain in your mind (buried, perhaps) for years to come and affect your decisions and thinking. And you're not alone.

In the end it's advertising for change, and we have data on advertising's usefulness. It can change minds.

GRU threatened his family. He did that to save them.

Hmm, in attempt to poison Skripal in London, they poisoned his daughter as well. It is quite silly to talk about this if you consider all the war crimes in Ukraine.

Can’t be that, his wife went back with him to Russia and stayed there afterwards. Hardly the actions of someone protecting their family.

> Can’t be that

Umm... why?

He was given a choice. Either he returns or his family gets assassinated.

If someone was threatening to kill your family, would you deliver your wife to them? Nothing in the world would compel you, obviously.

Clearly he believed that his family’s lives were exceptionally safe, probably way more safe than they actually were.

The only explanation for his return that fits with the manner of his return is that he wanted to martyr himself.

I don't think you understand how this works. Navalny's family physical location made zero difference here. As evidenced by numerous murders conducted abroad by FSB and GRU. No place is safe when Putin wants you dead.

Highly recommend reading this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blowing-Up-Russia-Return-KGB/dp/190...

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