Ballet dancer, choreographer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov, who famously defected from the Soviet Union nearly a half-century ago, called Alexei Navalny “insanely brave” as a human rights group awarded the jailed Russian opposition leader its annual prize.
The New York-based Train Foundation gave its 2022 “Civil Courage Prize” to Navalny in absentia, in a ceremony at New York University on Monday night.
Baryshnikov, 74, who is also active on human rights in the region, said Navalny’s mission is to “champion a more democratic vision for Russia.” He said Navalny is “insanely brave” for fighting “another brutal authoritarian Russia.”
