Read on Twitter
Rather depressing, if predictable, to see Twitter's armchair 'Russia experts' & 'conspiracy theorists' immediately screaming 'Putin did it,' without any evidence. Russia is not so simple. And it's really tiresome to read this bullsh*t when you actually know the country. https://twitter.com/27khv/status/1296330527474159618
While US/UK media erroneously describes Navalny as the 'Russian opposition leader' (he's not), he's actually better known *in* Russia as (effectively) the country's leading anti-corruption journalist. This means he has dozens of powerful enemies whom he has exposed.
Navalny's reports are extremely popular - getting millions of views on YouTube - and have upset a lot of people, from those close to the Kremlin itself down to smaller figures you've never heard of . There's also the point that it's not even confirmed yet that he was poisoned.
As a 'politician,' he barely registers (his rating is about 2%) and he's no threat to Putin whatsoever. The problem is US/UK media don't explain this to their readers (much like they falsely claim Sergei Magnitsky was a lawyer). In Russia, he's first & foremost a media figure.
Navalny is also far more useful to Putin alive, than dead. If something terrible happens here (and let's pray it does not), it will be an absolute PR disaster for the Kremlin. If they wanted Navalny out of the picture, would be far easier to jail or exile him.
This is true. If anything, Navalny is almost part of the system, in his own way. He plays his role and is tolerated by elites. It's also clear that people inside the government are feeding him information for his investigations. https://twitter.com/michaelidov/status/1296359693187715079?s=20
Russian political expert @Stanovaya: "Some years ago I was told that Navalny’s murder was seen in the Kremlin as a kind of nightmare scenario - one that would be seen only as a dangerous kind of provocation that would spark protests."
https://t.me/rpolitik/87
https://t.me/rpolitik/87
