The jailing of Alexei Navalny may yet prove a turning point in Vladimir Putin’s presidency — not just because of the mere fact of his imprisonment, but because of the power of his words in the courtroom. In a scathingly dignified statement, the activist argued his court appearance had little to do with his alleged violations of parole linked to a 2014 fraud conviction (which the European Court of Human Rights called “arbitrary and unreasonable”). It was because he had survived a plot to poison him, investigated it, and tied it convincingly to Russia’s security services. “The explanation is one man’s hatred and fear — one man hiding in a bunker,” he said of Russia’s president.
The conversion of a suspended sentence into a jail term for Mr Navalny of a net two years and eight months — despite the danger of turning him into a Mandela-style critic-behind-bars — suggests the Kremlin is genuinely rattled. The anti-corruption blogger’s exposure of the ruling circle’s lavish lifestyles has evolved from an embarrassment into a threat.
His two-hour video featuring a billion-dollar palace allegedly built for Mr Putin by the Black Sea has been viewed 107m times in two weeks. After the Russian president denied any connection to the vast edifice, state TV claimed it was owned by a childhood friend and judo partner of Mr Putin who is now a multi-billionaire. Not all Russians will find that explanation comforting, even if they believe it.