We are being pressured and challenged by Russia on one side, by China on the other.
They are both betting that we can’t pull together.
They are both convinced we’re in decline, that we have forgotten to compromise, that animosities will keep us apart and we won’t be able to build bridges.
We have scientists. We have builders. We have artists. We have technology. We have drive. We have natural resources. We have good people.
And yet, we have fallen on hard times because we have stopped talking. And when that happens then the hope for compromise fades.
The majority of the nation agrees that democracy is worth defending and affirming.
And at the heart of democracy lies the need to give and take. So, yes, the pace of change is slower when we compromise but the prize is freedom. Justice. Equality of opportunity.
Extremes are toxic. We have to avoid them.
The next time you come across someone with a different viewpoint, do not shirk from expressing your own. Fear not their anger. Express your view.
And if you find the opposing view absurd or outlandish remind yourself that most issues are complex, and that varying circumstances have shaped our views, and that it is absolutely essential that, regardless of how irritated we may be with the opposing view, we must retain our calm and composure and so avoid that our anger leads us to judging the person.
Let us keep our minds open.
China and Russia both have powers that can harm us. They are both dictatorships that severely restrict freedom of speech. If a person living there challenges the system they end up in jail or eliminated.
Their leaders fear freedom of speech for it can spread to others and endanger their hold on power. Xi Jinping has been president since 2013 and has arranged to change the rules so he can stay in command. He even arranged for their legislative body to designate him ‘Historical Figure,’ like Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping before him.
And so with Putin, who’s been in control of Russia since 1999 and has intimidated his nation to extend his term til 2036.
There are reasons why we have term limits for President in America. It prevents corruption. It allows for other views to emerge and be considered.
Today, Russia is threatening to invade the Ukraine. Is Ukraine a threat to Russia? No. But Putin fears that if Ukraine veers toward freedom, then other countries under his thumb will also try to better themselves.
China has squashed democracy in Hong Kong. They can’t stand the fact that Taiwan, after much struggle, has become a free nation. So they aim to invade it and bring it under their control.
We, in America, have freedom. Talking to each other, making the effort, is essential to keeping it. Anyone who refuses to reach out to others is toxic to our system.
Freedom is based on dialogue, compromise and bridge building. And all of us, every one of us, needs to do their part to preserve it.
Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net. also on anchor.fm, apple, google podcasts and buzzsprout
There are so many countries in our planet, where the very few govern the many. So many countries, even advanced ones, where the very few have found a way to impose their will on the many.
In those instances, something has happened in the many that they were willing to surrender their will.
Hierarchies, natural ones, are needed so things can run better and more is accomplished. They are needed for efficiency.
Knowledge, know how, wealth, power establish hierarchies.
Take a company, for instance. The founder has developed expertise in an area or has invented a product that they have taken to market. When we choose to join that effort we are assigned a place within the hierarchy and we are paid for our work.
It makes sense that the founder get the most of the profits. Without their expertise or product, the company would not have existed. But it is essential that the worker be treated fairly.
If this can be done without unions, so much the better, since unions bring their own hierarchies and bureaucracy. But the fact that unions exist is evidence that often the company’s hierarchies do not deal squarely with the workers.
One of the problems of any hierarchy, be it in business or government, is a gradual tendency for those on top to overrate their own capacity while devaluing that of those beneath them. The more distance between those at the top and those in the lower ranks, the more likely the devaluing.
It happens everywhere. The task is to find ways to prevent it.
One way is to keep an open conversation.
This allows people at any level in the hierarchy to remind others of the role they play within the organization.
When there is a real conversation between those at the top and those beneath them, there is less of a chance of devaluing everyone’s contribution. Even down to the janitorial staff that, working the night shift, ensure that those coming in the morning will find a clean office.
When the conversation between top and bottom is genuine, then there is a sense that everyone’s contribution is acknowledged. And the lesser the likelihood of devaluing to occur.
Open conversation creates the opportunities for people to improve their skills and so aspire to move up the organization as jobs become available.
There is a similarity between the organization of business and the organization of governments.
In totalitarian or autocratic governments, the conversation between the top and the lower ranks is limited or non existent. Conversation understood as a two way exchange, where contrary views can be aired. Conversation understood as free speech.
Today in our world, in some powerful countries, there is none or little conversation between the upper and lower ranks. That is a problem because it shrinks the human spirit.
Those at the top do not want to listen to those at the bottom. The ruling elite has found a way to block the conversation and prefers to punish those who wish to start one.
The ruling elite wants to prevent challenges to its privileges.
But something happens to those who are consistently devalued and not allowed their views to be heard. Something that should have been developed is not. And the longer the suppression of those voices the greater the existential poverty that follows.
Today, China and Russia – Cuba and Venezuela in the Americas – are examples of such damage.
The opportunity to express one’s ideas is essential to the spiritual health of the individual and thus of the nation. It enhances creative possibilities. Not having it is a clear sign of oppression.
Chinese and Russian citizens may find comfort in the economic and military might of their respective countries but without freedom, human beings slowly degrade and contract. They become less than they could otherwise.
Chinese or Russian citizens may be entranced by their leaders but if freedom of speech is not available, they forsake the chance of achieving full development as human beings.
Here in the United States we are going through a difficult period, with opposing sides hardening and little effective effort made to establish a conversation between the two.
Bridges must be built.
Or the poorer our existences will be.
For those interested, Freedom House does an excellent job of mapping the distribution of democracies around the world.
Oscar Valdes. Oscarvaldes.net. Available as a podcast in anchor.fm, apple and google podcasts, buzzsprout.
The Russian dictator must be having trouble at home because he decides to amass troops on the eastern border with the Ukraine and then claim he must do so because Russia is under threat by the West.
According to Putin, should Ukraine continue to lean toward the West his empire would be vulnerable to invasion.
But who would want to invade Russia? What for? Who wants to go there?
Instead, it is Putin who is a threat to other nations. He aids in the repression of democratic protests in Belarus, supports the Myanmar dictator’s savage repression of his people, joins with Assad to brutalize Syrians, aids the socialist government in Venezuela, which regime is responsible for the largest exodus of people in recent history, six million Venezuelans having sought refuge in neighboring countries with all the attendant pain of dislocation.
Russia may have 4000 nuclear warheads to scare the world, but it is a nation that inspires no one.
And now Putin wants to pressure the West into forbidding that NATO expand its reach to Ukraine and Georgia and demand that no western forces be stationed in Poland or the Baltic countries.
That Putin wants to rebuild the Soviet Union is clear. But those citizens in all those eastern countries formerly in the Soviet Union, have something to say about it. And they don’t want the Russian boot on their throats.
Putin’s dictatorship has held back Russia’s development. He makes every effort to choke the opposition and now has one of their leaders, Alexei Navalny, in prison.
Putin is clearly envious of the West and their ability to be productive, in spite of all our problems. He has been in power since 1999 but cannot get the Russian people to be more productive. This has nothing to do with Russians’ capacities. They are competent people, but for one reason or another, fell under the spell of a man who thinks only of how great he is.
Putin is also envious of China. He wishes he had come up with their way of attracting capital to get their economy moving. But he couldn’t do it. It wasn’t in him.
What is in him is his ability to scheme and invent crises, hoping to profit from them.
Now talks are under way to ease the tensions Putin has created with the threat to invade the Ukraine. But the West should not give in an inch.
Putin’s move gives, in effect, a great opportunity for president Biden to unify the Western alliance which had been frayed by Trump’s shortsighted diplomacy.
Russia’s government, not the people, is an enemy to the West. The Russian people are being diminished in their possibilities by an authoritarian regime that has made their nation less competitive in the world and caused them to fall far behind.
If Putin chooses to invade the Ukraine, then president Biden should follow through with his promise of aiding Ukrainians in defending their nation without sending in American troops.
It would make for a bloody war, for Ukrainians will fiercely resist having to bow to the Russian government.
Freedom has a price. A protracted war in the Ukraine would have the effect of strengthening the anti Putin movement in Russia, hastening his fall.
President Biden and the West must stand firm against Putin and his disregard for humanity, including that of his own people.
Oscar Valdes oscarvaldes.net also available in anchor.fm, apple and google podcasts and buzzprout.
Prison outside of Moscow. June 10th. Late morning.
Navalny is seated at a table in a windowless room when Putin enters. Navalny glances at him but does not rise.
Putin closes the door which has a rectangular glass window through which a guard standing outside now looks into the room.
The table is bare.
A fluorescent light on the ceiling casts a greenish opaque light into the room.
Putin sits down across from Navalny.
The two men look at each other for a moment.
‘I beat you,’ says Putin without any expression.
Navalny smiles faintly, eyes riveted on Putin.
‘No, you haven’t.’
‘Yesterday, the courts labelled your group an extremist organization, so you won’t be able to be part of any election… and no one will want to come near you.’
‘I heard,’ replies Navalny, calmly. ‘The court is like your dog. Worse. And I pity those groveling judges… who’re willing to tarnish their names and that of their children, to satisfy you… people with no sense of history.’
‘You think you have a sense of history?’ asks Putin.
‘I do… and one day you will be sitting on this side of the table… because real judges, not clowns, will pass judgment on how you’ve misled our people and corrupted government.’
Putin shakes his head, dismissively, an expression of pity for Navalny.
‘I can’t deny you your fantasies… which is all you have left… just fantasies.’
Navalny has his eyes on Putin as he clasps his hands and rests them on the table.
‘I am in complete control of your life…’ continues Putin, ‘you live because I allow it.’
Navalny doesn’t flinch. ‘You really think you can keep the Russian people silent?’
‘I do,’ returns Putin, ‘not just silent but happy… for in surrendering to my will they have discovered they like it.’
Navalny turns away for a moment, the expression sad, as he thinks of the quiet agony of his beloved Russia, surrendering to the will of a man. How did it get to this point? Where were the bright lights of Russia, the intellectuals, the poets, the writers? Where were they that they didn’t scream in horror at their nation’s slow descent into their present state?
Navalny now glances at the guard peering into the room through the small glass window.
He returns to stare directly at Putin.
‘You may well kill me… I’m well aware it could happen any moment… even today… whenever you wish to give the order… but the movement I’ve started is far greater than me… I’m awakening this great country, my land… awakening them to see how you are holding them back… just so you can remain in power. Look at yourself… what regimes do you defend in this world? Assad in Syria, who’s been butchering his people for years… Myanmar’s generals who’re wantonly killing brave protesters … Maduro in Venezuela, who has impoverished and destroyed a once prosperous nation. In all of them, you have aided in the brutal repression of freedom… aided in the denial of people’s rights… while causing immeasurable suffering. Tell me, just how do you sleep at night?’
Putin smiles with self satisfaction. ‘Very well. Right through the night.’
Navalny closes his eyes for a moment, the expression grim.
‘Why did you want to see me?’ he asks. ‘What for?’
‘I’m not sure,’ begins Putin. ‘I suppose that I take pleasure in seeing an opponent defeated… maybe beg for mercy.’
‘Go to hell, man. Go to hell,’ replies Navalny angrily as he pulls up in his seat. ‘Do not imagine for a moment that you have crushed me or our movement. You will never do that. And none of us will ever beg for mercy from a despot like you. You can have me killed right now and I will die a free man, not a slave like the Russians who bow to you. So, go to hell, Putin.’
The guard at the window, struck by Navalny’s intensity, cracks the door open and takes a step in.
Putin calmly waves him off. The soldier closes the door and returns to looking through the window.
‘You cannot take our thirst for freedom from any of us,’ continues Navalny, firmly, ‘no matter how many rules you pass, no matter how many of us you poison, like you did with me… but you’ll never know what freedom is… no, it’s not in you… the only thing in you is the desire to oppress and control others.’
Putin sits back in his chair and crosses his arms. He stares at Navalny.
‘I didn’t poison you,’ he says calmly.
‘No? Then who did?’
‘I don’t know.’
Navalny shakes his head slowly as he looks down at the ground in disbelief.
‘There are other actors in Russia…’ says Putin softly.
‘Other actors?’
‘People I have no control over.’
‘What a convenient excuse. I suppose that includes all those responsible for cyberattacks on other nations, and the hackers who interfered in the elections in America.’
The two men look at each other directly.
‘You really expect me to believe that?’
Putin shrugs his shoulders.
‘I believe nothing you say to me, nothing,’ says Navalny. He glances off for a moment, then returns to face Putin.
‘Why don’t you walk away while there’s still time… before you start turning your machine guns on Russians protesting in the streets… before you start massacring your brothers and sisters and our children in broad daylight…’
‘That will never happen,’ says Putin, calmly. ‘My great accomplishment… has been to turn Russia into a politically docile nation… capable of great accomplishments in other areas… but politically docile.’
‘Like in China,’ says Navalny.
‘China has learned much from us.’
‘Yes… the wrong lessons. I cannot understand how an intelligent man like you has chosen to ignore assisting your land in its development. I cannot understand how you stubbornly refuse to see that Russia needs to grow up… to evolve politically… to learn to give up supporting autocrats… communists… despots like you… and rise to become a nation that values freedom of expression… and to be able to support the quest for freedom in other nations… anywhere in the world.’
‘You want Russians to be like Americans?’
‘Russians need to learn how to become enlightened Russians. We may find things in common with Americans but we want to find our own path… like any other self respecting people in this world. We want to find our uniqueness.’
Putin nods slowly.
‘Americans have their own problems they are struggling with,’ continues Navalny, ‘like race, and the idolatry of the super entrepreneur, which has led to the absurdity of their not paying any taxes, which fosters inequality…but to their credit, Americans keep working on it. Sometimes they have a dinosaur sneak in to lead them, but they eventually get past them.’
Putin rubs his nose as he weighs Navalny’s words.
‘I am amazed to hear you talk… it’s like you live in another world… maybe that’s why I wanted to see you today.’
Putin leans forward a little, speaking softly.
‘Russians want nothing of what you talk about… they have found peace in their souls… and peace is having a strong boss… like Stalin… and yes, like me. They like to have a father figure who helps them go to sleep quietly at night… go to sleep knowing that their country is feared in the world… that no nation dares to pick a fight with us. But you don’t get that.’
‘You are so wrong about what Russians want…’ responds Navalny with fervor, his expression filled with wonder, ‘Russians want to dream… dream with their eyes open and under a bright sun… they want romance…’
‘Romance?’ asks Putin.
‘Yes, Russians want to fall in love with freedom… and all its possibilities.’
Quietly amused, Putin takes in Navalny’s enthusiasm. ‘I knew there was something wrong with you… but didn’t know you were a romantic.’
Navalny sits back in his chair. He now seems tired, despondent. How could Russians have endured this man governing them for 20 years?
Navalny closes his eyes for a moment. Why did Putin really come to see him?
He looks Putin in the eye. ‘Why are you here?’
‘I wonder about that, myself,’ replies Putin.
Putin has been thinking to himself that there is a strength about Navalny that he finds appealing… a commitment that drives the man to put his life on the line for his nation… to endure being poisoned and still return to Russia knowing he would be imprisoned, maybe even killed. And as Putin secretly admits to his rival’s boldness… the courage to defy whatever may stand in his way… even death itself… Putin quietly acknowledges that he envies Navalny.
‘Oh, yes…’ he begins again, ‘there was something I wanted to tell you… you know how there’s been talk that you would be awarded a Nobel Prize for Peace?’
Navalny looks intrigued. Yes, of course he knew that.
‘Well…’ continues Putin, ‘… now that our courts have ruled you and your movement an extremist group, I don’t think the West will have the guts to go forward with that idea.’
Navalny lets out a laugh.
‘You poor man,’ Navalny says, his expression bright again, ‘of course they will. They will do so now more than ever. Like the Americans say, just to rub it in.’
Putin frowns. ‘No, they won’t. They won’t dare embarrass me like that.’
‘Yes, they will,’ says Navalny defiantly, with relish. ‘Your actions labelling me an extremist just moved me to the front of the line.’
But Putin is not laughing.
‘And, of course, you won’t let me go receive the prize but I and all Russians with a thirst for freedom will smile in our hearts that the world acknowledges our yearnings.’
Navalny leans forward, brashly. ‘Is that what you really came here to tell me?’
Putin stares back at him with simmering anger.
‘The world is not afraid of you, Vladimir… they know who you are. They know what you mean, and they stand by the Russian people who want to be free.’
‘I will be meeting with Biden in Geneva on the 16th of this month…’ says Putin.
‘I know… just try to be on your best behavior when you meet…’
‘Why?’
‘Because Biden is not Trump.’
Putin rises from his chair abruptly as he looks down at Navalny.
‘It is up to us to light up the fire that will warm the hearts of all Russians, and we will do it,’ says Navalny, with renewed strength.
‘And up to me to pour cold water on them,’ replies Putin, icily.
Alexei Navalny, who’s been in prison since January after returning to Russia from Germany – where he was treated for poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok – went on a hunger strike at the end of March after prison authorities did not allow his family to visit him following his reports that he had developed back pain and loss of feeling in his legs.
The prison replied he’s receiving adequate medical care.
But two days ago, the Associated Press reported that a physician who reviewed lab results of Navalny’s brought to him by his family, says his blood levels of potassium and creatinine are elevated and puts the patient in danger of death.
Here’s the problem: Putin would not mind it one bit if Navalny dies.
But the Russian people would lose an important leader.
Supporters of Navalny should insist that he give up the hunger strike immediately.
There are fights that can’t be won and that is one of them.
The Russian people are not ready to go into an uproar if Navalny were to die now.
Much work remains to be done and for that Navalny has to be alive.
Who knows what will bring Russians out of the stupor they find themselves in, allowing a man like Putin to rule them since 1999.
But the movement that Navalny has led has been making progress, slowly confronting Russians with the denial they are stuck in.
His dying in prison won’t help.
Prisons are bad places. Who knows what kind of pressures Navalny is being subjected to by fellow prisoners at the behest of the government, which may have led to the hunger strike.
Navalny has to focus on staying alive, not gamble with his health.
His supporters need to act fast while there is still time.
The New York Times said yesterday that an open letter had been addressed to Putin by prominent personalities asking that Navalny be allowed the care needed immediately.
This morning, the Associated Press stated that demonstrations on Navalny’s behalf are planned for this weekend in Moscow and St Petersburg.
The hope is that Putin will acknowledge the request.
But there is a good chance he’ll drag his feet and, in the meantime, Navalny’s health will worsen.
I can imagine Putin in his private residence, sipping from a glass of fine wine, as he muses over the events, relishing his returning to the spotlight he so enjoyed while Trump was president.
Now Biden is getting all the attention.
‘And to think he dared call me a killer, on national television,’ says Putin to himself, referring to Biden, a feeling of bitterness rising in him. ‘And now they want me to be charitable with my enemies… their Trojan Horse… because that’s all that Navalny is, an American agent.’
He ponders the thought and then, smiling to himself, says ‘Dear Alexei… to think that I feared you would one day dethrone me.’
Putin long ago signed a pact with the Devil. He has aided the brutal repression in Burma, propped up Assad in Syria.
One day soon, the Russian people will awaken. Alexei Navalny has been trying hard to do that.
But he has to stay alive.
For that, he has to quit the hunger strike.
In addition to the letters of prominent people in his support, we must encourage the effort to have Navalny be pushed forward as the choice for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
Alexei Navalny, with his enormous courage, walks in the steps of Andrei Sakharov, the Russian physicist and human rights activist who won the same prize in 1975.
That award did much to raise the consciousness of the world and prepare the Russian people for the change that followed when the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26th 1991.
As of today, 536 citizens have been killed by the repressive forces under general Hlaing, the Burmese dictator, who seized control of the country on February 1, three months after his party had been soundly defeated at the polls the preceding November 1st.
General Hlaing did not have the decency to respect the will of his people.
But his people, undeterred, have continued to protest the general’s repressive actions in a huge civil disobedience movement.
The courage and sacrifice of the Burmese people are heroic.
You have to wonder what goes on in the mind of the general. How does he justify the killings of men and women, young and old? Just what does he say to himself in his private moments?
Does he say to himself that he is better than the protesters?
He must.
Does he look at the pictures of the men and women killed by his soldiers?
He probably does.
Only to then justify his actions.
We are left to imagine the poverty of soul of the general. His profound lack of humanity. His absence of compassion.
And we are left to wonder, how could a man like that ascend to a position of leadership? But he did.
He did because others around him lacked the courage to confront him as he rose in the ranks while sharing in the belief that, as a class, they were better than the citizens of their country.
What ghastly spectacle is taking place in Myanmar today.
And the butchering of a people goes on while the military enjoy the support of the governments of Russia and China.
What does that tell us about the dictators that rule those countries?
That they are just like general Hlaing. And were Russia and China to face an insurrection in their respective countries, their people would be treated equally ruthlessly, equally brutally.
That’s what the people in Russia and China have to look forward to.
The price of silence.
Just this past August, in the republic of Belarus, rigged election results were vehemently contested by the people, but the president of the country, Alexander Lukashenko, violently squashed the protests and refused to step down.
Of course, he travelled to Moscow to meet with his master, Putin, and get instructions.
Putin would know. He has over three decades of experience in silencing people. Three decades of experience in devaluing his fellow citizens.
Meanwhile, as fear reigns in Russia and China and other parts of the world, the deaths keep mounting in Myanmar.
And the majority of us keep watching. Shrugging it off.
But the unchecked butchering of a people does something to us.
It degrades us.
In New York City a Filipino woman was shoved to the ground and kicked in the head by a man who shouted she didn’t belong in America. There were bystanders who watched the action and said nothing.
I hear that some governments, including our own, have placed sanctions on general Hlaing, other officers and businesses owned by the military. But that’s not enough.
Is there anything the rest of us can do?
In this age of high internet connectivity, surely there is something we could possibly do.
Talk about it. Yes. That’s a start. Not let it just pass. Not simply change channels. But pause for a moment to think, how is it affecting us?
How does it affect us that the Butcher of Burma carries on with near impunity?
Should we not feel the anger?
Should we not write something about our anger at the killings? Write to our governments, to the United Nations, to the Russian and Chinese people, even to their leaders.
Could we do something… something… instead of being silent.
A man of enormous courage, who has for years campaigned against the corruption and despotism of the Russian government, deserves the world’s full support.
As of today, he is still in prison. And the sad likelihood is that Putin and his collaborators will make up new charges to prevent him from being released. Ever.
Why? Because Alexei Navalny is too much of a threat.
The mention of Navalny stirs up in Russians the possibility of a new and better world.
Putin cannot accept that.
A nation with a history of great achievements, has lain in a semi dormant state, unable to fully develop its tremendous capabilities, while under the control of Vladimir Putin.
Imagine for a moment, all that the Russian people could be contributing to the world, where they to be living in a political system that allowed for the free expression of ideas.
The arts would then blossom, and so would technology, industry and science.
The lights shining from Russia would be seen by all nations.
So, yes, we need people like Navalny to stir us up.
As we speak, in not far off Myanmar, a dictator is now butchering its people, shooting dissidents in the head. Why? Because he must remain in power.
In Hong Kong, protesters are being put in jail because Xi Jinping is convinced he must mold all Chinese in his own image.
In Xinjian province, the government has been forcibly reeducating Muslims so that they, too, become more Chinese.
Isn’t it amazing how some people can persuade others to remain silent, and surrender their ambitions of personal fulfillment, not just for a little while, but for a lifetime?
Putin could change this for Russians at any time. If he believes that most Russians are with him, then why not hold free elections and let them decide?
But he won’t because he’s afraid Russians will choose Navalny over him.
So he prefers to keep things under his control so he may govern until his death, maybe 20 or 30 years from now.
What’s lost in that deal? That generations of Russian people will not see their possibilities fulfilled.
But that is not a concern for Putin. Power is.
Just like it is for Xi Jinping. Or General Hlaing in Myanmar.
Putin will not step down from his position unless forced by ill health or the Russian people revolt.
So, yes, Alexey Navalny is a threat.
He is a threat because he has the courage to dream. For himself, for his beloved Russia and for all of us. He has become an inspiration to men and women the world over and so become part of us.
What a distinction. What an honor.
As stated in Wikipedia, ‘Navalny was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by multiple Norwegian members of parliament.[359][360] An Internet petition to the Nobel Committee in support of Mr. Navalny’s candidacy has been signed by over 38,000 people.[361]’
I am here adding my name to such petition.
Oscarvaldes.net
Cc Editor of the New York times, the Washington Post, The Economist, Amnesty International.
Alexei Navalny, the courageous political dissenter, was just sentenced to a 3 ½ prison term for not complying with the terms of his probation, which he could not because he was in a German hospital recovering from an attempt to kill him with the poison Novichok, a nerve agent available only to government agencies.
Russian authorities deny any involvement.
Governments across the world have called for his release.
What has Alexei Navalny been asking for?
The freedom for the Russian people to elect who they want.
That is all. And for that he is being punished.
All he has said and fought for, while putting himself in great danger, is that Russians should have a right to choose who is to govern them.
Vladimir Putin, who has been in power since 1999, says No.
No, because he believes he knows what is best for Russians. No, because he likes being president very much – he is now in his 4th term – and he would miss the office if he has to step down. No, because he is convinced he has all the answers for his people and why bother with elections, it is such a waste of time and energy.
Alexei Navalny has dared to disagree. He says Russians are afraid of Putin and insists there is no way forward for the country but to overcome their fears and challenge him.
Of course, Mr Putin could, at any time, take a different position and say that he is willing to face Mr Navalny in an election, and let all Russians decide. He might even win. Russians may prefer to see him be president for life. But that is not what we’re seeing. What we’re seeing is that he would rather not take the chance.
Is he afraid he might lose?
That Alexei Navalny has faced his fears and started a protest movement shows that he is a special person. People like him are a gift to their people and to the world. A gift because they have dared where others have not. So they ought to be supported because their courage will make for a better life for the rest of us.
While he is in prison, someone else needs to step front and take over the leadership of the movement he’s started.
Russians should not stay quiet. Alexei Navalny lives in every Russian.
And every Russian has to find a way to free the Alexei Navalny that lives in them.
We, in the Free World, must do what we can to stand in solidarity with our Russian brothers and sisters.
We, in the Free World, must do what we can to keep Alexei Navalny alive.
It is imperative that the life of Alexei Navalny be spared. He has proven himself a man of great courage in daring to expose corruption in your country and in his willingness to challenge you and your party in elections.
Russia is underperforming as a nation and it seems obvious that the restrictions to free speech and enterprise that your government enforces are the direct cause of it. The challenges to development that the world faces need the contribution of all available talent. Russia has a long history of great accomplishment in science, industry and the humanities. The world needs those contributions.
As of today, Mr Navalny remains incarcerated. He should be freed. He should be allowed to lead his political movement and offer alternatives to Russians.
Why is it that you’re afraid of what Mr Navalny represents?
You think he might defeat you in the elections? Then that would be the expression of the will of the Russian people. Why shouldn’t Russians have a right to express themselves freely?
Mr Navalny’s recent poisoning with the chemical Novichok was intended to kill him. It is a miracle that it didn’t. You denied your government’s involvement but why haven’t the guilty parties been found?
Do you think that the world will forget? It will not.
In the minds of the free citizens of the world you stand as a symbol of oppression not of enlightenment.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way. You could change course. You could hold free elections and let Mr Navalny run against you.
Wouldn’t that be truly revolutionary? Putin versus Navalny for the presidency of Russia.
As it is, you are running out of time. Persist in your current course and history will not be kind. It will remember you as a symbol of political backwardness.
But change your approach and your nation will move to a new level.
Dare to open your country politically and what will follow will likely astound the world and we will all be grateful.
Trump is in the Oval Office, standing by his desk.
He gets a call from his secretary.
Secretary – Putin on the line. Would you like to take the call?
Trump – Sure.
The call goes through.
Putin – Donald!
Trump – Vlady! Great to hear your voice, as always.
Putin – Great to hear you too.
Trump – Just heard the news about the Germans saying that Alexey Navalny was poisoned by your people.
Putin – I didn’t do it.
Silence.
Putin – You don’t believe me?
Trump – I’ve always trusted you, Vlady… something about your persona that I find reassuring.
Putin – Thank you.
Trump – But the Germans did identify that nerve agent… Novichok.
Putin – I didn’t do it. But let me ask you, because I know you’ll understand, is there any way that we can control everybody that works for us?
Trump – Of course not.
Putin – Exactly. I don’t doubt that Navalny was poisoned, the Germans have doctors as good as yours and mine, but I assure you I didn’t give the order.
Trump – You’ve always inspired great confidence, so I believe you.
Putin – Donald… you bring tears to my eyes… truly… that means so much to me. Thank you.
Trump – My pleasure. How’s everything?
Putin – The reason I called is… I’ve been feeling a little hurt.
Trump – Oh, no, something I did?
Putin – Something you didn’t do.
Trump – Please, tell me.
Putin – You know how, just last week, we announced that we had the first vaccine against the virus…
Trump – Tremendous breakthrough. Congratulations.
Putin – Why haven’t you asked for help from me?
Trump is silent.
Putin – You only have to ask and I’ll give you first priority. I’ll have my scientists make you 50 million doses so you can take care of your vulnerable populations. Why haven’t you asked?
Trump – Vlady… first of all… on behalf of the American people, thank you for that generous offer. It goes to show the quality of your government. I really mean it. The thing is… my scientific community has doubts that you could’ve arrived at the vaccine so fast.
Putin – I’ve had brilliant researchers working on it day and night. We have everybody on a strict schedule. 9 am to 9 pm for 6 days a week. Sundays off. Sorry, every other Sunday.
Trump – Amazing. But Vlady… it would not look good. Imagine… ‘America saved by Russia.’ That’s how the New York Times would title the article making the announcement. Just to hurt me. I’m in the final stage of this election… I thought the virus had beat me but now things are getting better and I think I’ll get reelected. I cannot take any chances.
Putin – Even if my vaccine would be saving thousands and thousands of American lives?
Trump – (hesitates at first) … even so.
Putin – Donald… Russia wouldn’t be doing it for the publicity… that’s secondary… we’d be doing it because of our love for all in need.
Trump – Of course. Yes. But… well… I’ve got very lucky lately… I thought I was sure to lose on account of the virus and now, suddenly, things have turned my way. So, like we say over here, I don’t want to push my luck.
Silence.
Putin – I thought that you did a masterful job handling the virus.
Trump – Thank you, Vlady. I appreciate it. But I think I was a little slow. Thankfully, though, unexpected events have come to assist me.
Putin – What is that?
Trump – The racial protests.
Putin – Ah, yes.
Trump – The looting, the burning of property, the chaos… I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Unbelievable. My numbers are rising steadily. I’m making up ground. The Democrats are catching on, though, I think they’re bribing the protesters to stop, but even so, we now have all that footage we can play over and over again. It’s going to be beautiful.
Putin – I’m so glad for you.
Trump – You’re staying on, of course…
Putin – Russia needs me.
Trump – Of course, like America needs me.
Putin – Law and Order. Like Assad in Syria, El Sisi in Egypt, MBS in Saudi Arabia, Duterte in Manila… yes… law and order.
Trump – You forgot Xi…
Putin – I did, didn’t I? Well, he’s one of the best.
Trump – It’s as if Mother Nature, in its infinite wisdom, had decided to bring all of us together at the same time.
Putin – You forgot Netanyahu.
Trump – Oops, I did. Yes, my great friend Bibi. May he reign for another 50 years… so he can see the West Bank finally annexed by Israel. What a glorious day that will be.
Putin – Actually, I disagree with you on that one.
Trump – Okay, we’ll talk about it later.
Putin – How come you didn’t invite Romney to speak at the Republican convention?
Trump – (laughs) Funny. He’ll have to do a lot begging before he gets an invitation from me.
Putin – A great show the convention was. And you were superb. All your family was just beautiful. America is so lucky to have you. The world, in fact.
Trump – Thank you, Vlady.
Putin – Have you thought of making one of your children Secretary of State?
Trump – What a marvelous idea. No, I hadn’t.
Putin – I would be one way of spreading your brand.
Trump – Of course.
Putin – And grooming him or her for the succession.
Trump – Brilliant, Vlady, just brilliant.
Putin – I’ve been following the events in your country… and I think Biden wouldn’t have selected the lady as Vice President if it hadn’t been for the racial protests.
Trump – You’re probably right. But, in his defense, he’s been in bed with African Americans for a long time. Plus, he’s a closet socialist. I’ll bury him in the debates. They’ll have to call the paramedics.
Putin – Now that we’re on that subject, something popped up in our screens here at the Kremlin the other day.
Trump – (very curious) What are you talking about?
Putin – A video clip…
Trump – What about?
Putin – Biden’s VP…
Trump – That woman…?
Putin – Right… in the middle of the night… in Minneapolis… with just her security detail around her… all very secretive… at George Floyd’s memorial… saying to George… ‘Thank you, George… if it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t have been selected… thank you, from the bottom of my heart.’
Silence.
Trump – Probably fake news… but interesting.
Putin – I thought so too.
Trump – (thinking about it) Interesting. Don’t know the author, do you?
Putin – No. Just popped up on our screens. Haven’t been able to trace it. Anyway… I’m always here for you, like a good friend.
Trump – Thank you, Vlady, thank you.
Putin – So onwards, my friend, another 4 years in office for a brilliant tactician! There’s never been a President like you.
Trump – Thank you, and may you reign in your land for the rest of your life.
Putin – Spasibo (thank you), spasibo.
They hang up.
Trump strolls toward the window, looks out into the city beyond.
Trump – Putin is like a great friend… just keeps giving and giving. Spasibo… spasibo, indeed. One day, after my second term is over, I’ll build that Trump Tower in Moscow.
The End
Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation and other books. Available on Amazon
Oscar Valdes 