Navalny’s memoir titled “Patriot” will be released on 22 October, eight months after the popular Russian opposition leader died in a remote Arctic penal colony.
Excerpts from Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s upcoming memoir published in New York magazine show that the dissident believed he would die in prison.
The passages were published in anticipation of Navalny’s memoir, “Patriot”, which will be released on 22 October.
“I will spend the rest of my life in prison and die here,” Navalny reportedly wrote in March 2022, adding, “There will not be anybody to say goodbye to … All anniversaries will be celebrated without me. I’ll never see my grandchildren.”
Navalny, who campaigned endlessly against official corruption in Russia, died in a remote Arctic prison in February as he served a 19-year sentence for several charges including running an extremist group.
He was imprisoned in Russia after returning to the country from Germany in 2021 where he had been recovering from being poisoned — an act he blamed on the Kremlin.
In his memoir, Navalny also addresses questions on why he would return to Russia after the poisoning given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hostility toward him.
“I don’t want to give up my country or betray it. If your convictions mean something, you must be prepared to stand up for them and make sacrifices if necessary,” Navalny wrote.
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced the memoir in April, saying that Navalny began writing the book as he recovered from being poisoned and continued to write it in Russia even after he was imprisoned.
Elsewhere in the memoir, Navalny shows his unwavering commitment to fighting corruption in Russia. In March 2022, the opposition leader wrote, “My approach to the situation is certainly not one of contemplative passivity. I am trying to do everything I can from here to put an end to authoritarianism.”
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a statement that the book was a testament to her husband’s life and his “unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship.”
She added the memoir will be published in eleven languages, including Russian.
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