It’s January 2026 and cuddly feelings about an international rules-based world order are beginning to look like a fond memory.
The ‘City Upon a Hill’, the beacon of hope and democracy that is The United States, is behaving like a nasty playground bully. The fig leaf has dropped revealing some truly ugly body parts. The bullying interventions are well documented Jeffrey Sachs Discusses U.S. Actions at UN Security Council | TikTok
It is Russia, though, that has embarked on a full-scale invasion of its neighbour. The killing began on the morning of 24 February 2022. Total military casualties (killed and wounded) for both sides combined are estimated to have reached approximately 1.4 to 1.5 million by early 2026. Another 2 years and the conflict will have matched the Second World War in duration.
Russia is not celebrated for free speech, and should a citizen object to Kremlin policy it’s better to remain silent.
That was not the choice of Alexei Navalny (Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most outspoken Putin critic – BBC News), who must have dreaded that he would be murdered.
This memoir is Alexei Navalny’s life in his own words: his Soviet childhood, political awakening, his marriage and beloved family, his total commitment to taking on a corrupt regime and his enduring love of Russia and its people. His 2020 poisoning by the Russian security services was a global news event. In 2024 he died in a brutal Siberian prison. How extraordinarily convenient for the Russian dictatorship.
Navalny began writing Patriot whilst recovering from his poisoning; it ends with his prison diaries, seen here for the first time. We witness the growth of his nationwide support. We see his many arrests and harassment and the attempt on his life. We understand why he felt he had to return to Russia. In prison, he showed a spirit and a sense of humour that could not be crushed.
This book is a wonderful testament to Navalny’s immense courage and humour.
** WINNER OF THE WESTMINSTER BOOK AWARD FOR BEST BOOK BY A NON-PARLIAMENTARIAN **
** A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A WATERSTONES, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND EVENING STANDARD BEST BOOK OF 2024 * ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S BEST BOOKS OF 2024 **
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496 pages in Bodley Head
First published 2024
ISBN-13 : 978-1847927033
Alexei Navalny