A Final Word on Alexei Navalny

I am consistently amazed by the many unexpected directions my life has taken me. After a few seasons of working in Alaska, I began studying bears, an animal I originally believed to be a fierce man-eater only to realize they were intelligent, complex and not so easily defined. My writing on the subject came at a time when a national interest in bears suddenly surged after a biologist in Minnesota placed a webcam in a black bear's den, showing the world for the first time that bears are not true hibernators and that mothers with newborn cubs spend most of the winter awake but groggy, tending to their young. This set my own work on a path to popularity that I never would have believed had you told me five years earlier that's where I was headed. But, as always, waves eventually fade and other priorities come to light.

In the winter, spring and summer of 2017 I had a series of vivid dreams about a war between America and Russia. I seldom remember my dreams but now, four years later, I can still recall every detail of each with perfect clarity. The final one haunts me the most: in it, a brief shooting war had taken place between the two countries and the U.S Government was crippled. Russia offered asylum - including full housing and financial assistance - to any Americans who wanted to flee the U.S. before the final attack occurred, destroying every major city. I had an argument with my dad who was born and raised during the Cold War era over the evacuation. I made it clear I was going; he made it clear he was not and never would. Afterwards I recall being in a church in Russia and hearing the news about the attack. I looked at my watch and hurried outside into the alley. I asked someone for directions and got into a cab. I vividly recall looking out the window of the cab as we drove and seeing the Soviet-style buildings lining the street on either side. The cab stopped at a marina and I got out. I was looking out over the ocean at a large volcano rising up into dark storm clouds and I knew it was Mt. Fuji in Japan and that I must be in Vladivostok (though Mt. Fuji is obviously not visible from Vladivostok). I heard a car pull up behind me and turned around to see another cab. My dad got out of the backseat with a smile on his face. End of dream.

This dream came back to me in a big way when Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, in mid-January, appeared on a Russian talk show and stated that she was receiving dozens upon dozens of messages from Americans asking for some way to flee the U.S. and move to Russia. She said the Russian government was very concerned about the recent domestic terrorism bill in the U.S. and the potential for human rights abuses through it. She said that a response was being prepared and that "everything will be done, we are getting ready."

Is Russia preparing a way out for Americans to flee the U.S.? Asylum? A fast-track to citizenship? Russia has recently condemned the push for new immunity passports and mandatory Covid vaccinations, as it was long expected they would, potentially making travel easier once borders reopen. Whatever their strategy the slow-motion train wreck that is U.S.-Russia relations is finally nearing its end with the ongoing saga of Alexei Navalny.

I've written about Navalny before and frankly he's barely worth mentioning but we have to at this juncture, though hopefully for the last time. In the west Navalny is lauded as a hero, as Russia's opposition leader bravely standing up to the "horrors of the Putin regime". In truth he's a 44 year old anarchist who was never had a job but still has access to large financial resources. He has only 2% public support in Russia and most of that consists of the Communist Party, which is the real opposition in Russia and something that very few there want to see come back into power, yet he is a darling of the Western powers. Never mind the fact that he is an avowed racist, not just toward other skin colors but toward non-Slavic whites. Never mind that he called Muslims of the Caucasus area cockroaches that should either be smashed with a shoe or shot with a gun. Never mind all that, the West loves him and the reason why should be clear. In August Navalny was allegedly poisoned with Novichok, the deadliest nerve agent in the world, one that kills within ten to thirty seconds, yet he survived and no one else around him was affected. When Germany insisted on conducting their own investigation, Russia gladly stood back and allowed him to be flown out of the country. Enter Mike Pompeo, who demanded Germany punish Russia for this outrageous behavior by backing out of the Nordstream II gas pipeline between Germany and Russia. Germany refused, much to the U.S.'s fury.

During Navalny's "recovery" Russia insisted he return to the country by a certain date otherwise he would be held in violation of parole. Navalny did not respond, returned after the deadline and was subsequently arrested. Almost immediately protests broke out against the arrest and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was caught red-handed posting on their website the locations and routes of the protests. The Russian government has demanded they answer for this provocation but I am so far unaware if they actually have. Meanwhile children on Twitter said they were paid by a Ukrainian man to join the protests thinking it was a party but when asked about Putin they responded that they support him 100%.

This begs the question of who Alexei Navalny is actually working for and how a 44 year old man who has never had a job has access to so many resources. There isn't a clear answer but there are some who claim that Navalny is paid and propped up by the CIA. Others who claim to have inside info say that he is funded by forces in the Kremlin who want to destroy the current government. Either way Navalny is clearly part of an ongoing coup against Russia, one that began with the Bolshevik Revolution and that has never ended, no matter how many times it gets overturned. So why not just kill him? If the Putin government really is the mafia state the U.S. government claims it is (something I have found no evidence of in the past four years and 1,000+ hours of research I've done) why not just eliminate him? Pop a bullet in his head in the middle of the night since apparently the deadliest nerve toxin in the world is such an ineffective killer. Nope. They don't do it. Yet we decry Putin's government as thuggish and murderous while considering granting full immunity to Mohammed bin Salman for the brutal murder by bonesaw of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. We cry about human rights abuses in Russia yet ignore Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, calling such criticism "anti-semitic". What's the difference? The U.S. loves to prop up real dictators who are our financial allies and hurl the term "dictator" at those who don't want to play our game by our rules.

One thing that I have learned in four years and 1,000+ hours of study is how much Russia and the United States have switched places. While America has been actively fighting against the traditional family unit, Russia has been offering financial incentives to families, with those incentives increasing with each subsequent child, including paid maternity leave for mothers and fathers. While America is having drag queen story time for kindergartners, Russia has added God to its Constitution. While America is tearing down churches to build military bases, Russia is tearing down Communist statues to build statues of Jesus Christ. The Bible says any nation that forgets God will go straight to the grave. Right now we are watching the full collapse of an Empire as the United States sinks into a grave of its own making, becoming more and more with each passing day like the Soviet Union.