In the wake of Navalny's wrongful imprisonment, reupping this old piece written during the Trump era & pulling out key points still relevant today. THREAD 1/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-russian-dissident-is-fighting-for-his-life-where-is-the-us/2020/08/20/2acf79ca-e31f-11ea-8181-606e603bb1c4_story.html?tid=ss_tw

"Alexei Navalny holds the audacious belief that Russians should be able to choose their leaders in free, fair and competitive elections. That’s why he tried to run for president in 2018, but was denied a place on the ballot." 2/

"He believes that government officials should not use their power for personal enrichment. That’s why he operates one of the most important investigative media outlets in Russia." 3/

"He champions the idea that Russians should not be arrested unjustly. That’s why he organizes protests and gets arrested himself. Navalny threatens autocracy in Russia." 4/

"Analysts in Russia & the West spend too much time scrutinizing Navalny’s policy positions: Is he too nationalist? Is he not liberal enough? Is he too leftist? Those are questions for Russian voters to decide: but right now they can’t. [That's] what Navalny is fighting for." 5/

"Navalny’s heroic struggle is no different from what Gandhi, King, Mandela and Havel fought for. While Navalny has not succeeded yet, there should be no doubt that his cause is good and just." 6/

"Vladimir Putin is evil. Over the past 20 years, Russia’s current leader has constructed a ruthless dictatorship....At home and abroad, Putin’s regime and its proxies have repeatedly killed, or tried to kill, its critics. Navalny [has] just become his latest victim." 7/

"American indifference to evil has consequences. It emboldens the villains and weakens the heroes.... In a world divided by good and evil, it’s time for America to get back on the right side." 8/ END THREAD