It is difficult not to equate the untimely death of Alexei Navalny with the death of Russian opposition. With just a few weeks before the sham election scripted to result in Vladimir Putin’s appointment for a fifth term as Russia’s president, Navalny’s death foreshadows a grim post-election future for Russia, Ukraine and the world.
Within Russia, Navalny will be irreplaceable in his ability to connect, to charm and to mobilise. With most of his allies now in exile, and the Kremlin’s stranglehold on the digital public square tighter than ever, the very avenues Navalny navigated to reach the hearts and minds of young people are fast disappearing. It is hard to see where a successor would emerge from. And so the Russian opposition has no leader, no focal point to unite behind, no face to represent it, no voice to speak on its behalf.
