[r721]

>knowing

I think the risk was huge (personally I thought 50-70% at the time), but not 99% or something. Also (in my opinion) people don't take into account that alternative was irrelevance in exile, just look at what happened with Kasparov's popularity inside Russia, and he was a prominent opposition activist in 2011-2012.

[rob74]

Still, people tend to value their life higher than their relevance - I mean, in the West he could have probably lived a comfortable life writing books and articles, working as a TV expert on Russia etc. I also respect his decision, but seeing that the powers that be already tried to kill him once, the chances of him returning to Russia and not being arrested were even lower than 1% I would say...

[RetroTechie]

> Still, people tend to value their life higher than their relevance

That's exactly what sets rare individuals like Navalny apart: that what they believe in, what they stand for, weighs heavier than their personal well-being.

[zirgs]

Yeah, he wants the same Russian empire as Putin, but with less corruption.

[caskstrength]

> he wants the same Russian empire as Putin, but with less corruption.

Exactly. I don't understand fascination of some westerners towards Navalny. He used to attend nazi rallies (literal sieg-heiling nazis, not "you are slightly right of Bernie"), then assumed veneer of political respectability without ever formally denouncing his previous talking points and started campaigning with the main premise of basically "I'll be better and less corrupt Czar of Russian empire". There is nothing liberal or democratic about this guy's political views.

[Medox]

> irrelevance in exile, just look at what happened with Kasparov's popularity inside Russia

Then again, Kasparov undermines Russia more efficiently while in exile than Navalny while inside (a prison no less). And Navalvy social media statements in exile might have been even more undermining Kasparov's.

Of course, undermining Russia with words might not help at all anyway...

[petre]

Whatever Kasparov says or does in exile is quite irrelevant in Russia. This is how actual Russians think:

"He's not even in Russia, what does he know."

I don't know why Navalny returned to Russia after being poisoned and nearly killed by Putin's thugs, but it was a very brave thing to do. It makes no sense.

[sterlind]

As close as I can tell, Russians tend to be very fatalistic. It's never been a happy place. It's cold, the state is corrupt, life is cheap. But people have a strong personal need for justice, to find those guilty and make them pay. But the state won't deliver justice, so you make a stand, and life is cheap so you take risks and double down. Hence Navalny, hence Litvinenko, hence all the journalists over the years who reported until they were thrown out windows or gunned down in public. Incredibly brave, I only wish the bravery led to real change rather than a neverending Greek tragedy.

[hdjjhhvvhga]

It is because as a person you feel nothing else can be done. So you do the thing that you can do, knowing that probably it can't change much but... what else can you do? Doing nothing like everyone else? From the outside it looks like madness, but when you are that person it seems like keeping your integrity and being able to look in the mirror.

[petre]

> So you do the thing that you can do, knowing that probably it can't change much but... what else can you do?

https://youtu.be/9-9LG7-2hV8

Russia has always fought tyranny with literature.

[thriftwy]

I'm not sure how "undermining Russia" is supposed to get you any votes (popular support, followers) in that Russia you are undermining.

Grant money that can yield all right.

[Darmody]

That's my point. He had put everything at risk because he knew it was the right thing to do. When choosing between doing what you think is best and what keeps you safe, people often choose the later.

[hvis]

It also kept him on the map as a Russian politician. Even though his practical communication abilities are pretty limited because of that.

[sdfghswe]

If you're going to infer from previous instances revolutionary Russian figures, why not look at Lenin? Or Trotsky?

[EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK]

At the day he returned, he released his grandest and most damning documentary about Putin's $1B palace and the ways it was financed. Maybe he hoped people would rise up and overturn Putin with him leading the masses.