My column on Alexey Navalny's death anniversary and critical reflection on his impact on Russian politics and activism. I urgently call to address the root causes of war, combat gender-based violence and confront russian imperialism, nationalism and militarism. I reflect on how we practice solidarity, hope, and care in our collective resistance against the far-right.

— I vividly remember the collective mourning that followed Navalny’s death on February 16, 2024. I cried again watching his funeral, televised by independent Russian media, in Moscow. Crowds shouted “Stop the war” and “Love is stronger than fear,” while women fell to their knees in tears at the Wall of Grief.

Anger, wonder, and hope are all vital to collective political action, writes postcolonial scholar Sara Ahmed. In her book The Cultural Politics of Emotion, she argues that solidarity “does not assume that our struggles are the same struggles, or that our pain is the same pain, or that our hope is for the same future.”

Rather, she continues, “[solidarity] involves commitment and work, as well as the recognition that even if we do not have the same feelings, or the same lives, or the same bodies, we do live on common ground.”

During Navalny’s mourning demonstrations, people found common ground in shared emotions—grief, anger, defiance. In a time of extreme repression and bans on public gatherings, such collective action carried real weight.

As we mark the anniversary of Navalny’s death, it’s crucial to reflect on his impact on Russian politics and activism. Let’s ask questions that matter: How did his politics reinforce or challenge gender norms? Why does the vision of a "Beautiful Russia of the Future"—the main slogan of Navalny’s 2017 presidential campaign, now taken up by the broader Russian opposition—fall short of systemic, radical change?
Do we risk perpetuating structural violence and inequality by isolating ourselves to his vision? What does solidarity mean, and how can we organize politically against the rise of the far-right?

https://doxaenglish.substack.com/p/after-alexei-navalny