Kremlin Foolishly Gave Navalny a Platform and He Used It Effectively, ‘SerpomPo’ Telegram Channel Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 28 – Russia has a long and distinguished history in which defendants have exploited their appearance in court to speak not so much to the judges and juries as to the nation, a pattern that has convinced most Russian rulers that it is the better part of wisdom not to give them that opportunity.

            But today’s “stupid Russian powers,” the SerpomPo says, are giving imprisoned opposition leader Aleksey Navalny precisely that opportunity; and because the Kremlin appears to be planning to bring even more charges against him in the future, it appears likely that Navalny will have many more such chances (t.me/SerpomPo/9811).

            “An intelligent power would do everything so that people would forget about its political opponent,” the channel continues. But “a stupid one thinks up ever new occasions in order to remind people about him and give him a tribune from which to speak.” That’s good news for him, for his supporters and for Russia, but it is anything but good for Putin and his regime.

            Here is what Navalny said to the court this time (znak.com/2021-04-29/sud_otklonil_apellyaciyu_navalnogo_po_delu_o_klevete_na_veterana). It won’t be forgotten not only by the Russian people but by their increasingly repressive government.

            “I want to say, my dear judge, that your king has no clothes, and already it isn’t just one young boy shouting about this but millions of people. Twenty years of incompetent rule have led to this: the crown is slipping from his ears and his lies are on television. We have spent trillions of rubles but out country continues to slide into poverty.

            “It shouldn’t surprise anyone that economists say that one must call the last years, the lost decades. I sit in a prison colony in an oblast center in Vladimir, 200 kilometers from Moscow, with not one good road and with people earning 30,000 rubles (400 US dollars) a month even though this is the 21^st century.

            “Your naked king wants to rule to the end. He has seized ever more power and wants to rule without any limit. If that happens, the lost decade will be replaced by a stolen decade.

            “The naked king realizes he can’t do anything about this and frantically seeks for something smacking of holiness to appropriate and steal. He does this with the victory of our people in the Great Patriotic War. He seeks to take ownership of this and trades on it right and left.

            “That’s what this case is about: it is about how your naked king stole the banner of Victory and tries to make it into a thong for himself. But in fact, all your power is the power of those very occupiers and traitors. Indeed, you are all traitors. You together with the naked king are carrying out a plan to seize Russia and turn Russians into slaves from which all their wealth and prospects will be taken.

            “You have been implementing this plan. And as a result, our population is shrinking by the millions. {Turning to the judge, Navalny says] Stop interrupting me. What I am saying is what this case is all about. [And you must remember, he continues] No matter how hard you try to steal the Victory from the people, you will not succeed.

            “Your honor, stop interrupting me. I know why you are doing this: you know that all of this is true and that my words in fact are remarkably kind considering that you are traitors and an occupying power. Your occupation administration has been quite successful because you have been robbing our people of what is rightfully theirs for 30 years.

            “That’s all I wanted to say!”