Dictator vs. democrat ? Not quite : Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is no progressive hero

Comment Alexeï Navalny est devenu la bête noire de Vladimir Poutine
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/02/02/comment-alexei-navalny-est-devenu-la-bete-noire-de-vladimir-poutine_6068445_

Un positionnement idéologique flou

Si Alexeï Navalny s’est imposé comme la figure de proue de l’opposition russe, il reste difficile à situer politiquement. Ainsi, son nom apparaît pour la première fois dans les colonnes du Monde en juin 2008 dans un article consacré à des formations ultranationalistes qui souhaitaient présenter une candidature commune aux élections. Parmi elles, le parti Le Peuple, dirigé par l’avocat.

Un an plus tôt, en 2007, Alexeï Navalny s’était fait exclure du parti libéral Iabloko pour ses sympathies nationalistes. Il a, par le passé, dénoncé la « criminalité ethnique » ou encore comparé des rebelles tchétchènes avec des « cafards ». En 2011, il avait aussi participé aux « marches russes », l’événement des ultranationalistes auquel prennent part des xénophobes notoires.

Dans un entretien à l’Agence France-Presse en 2018, il se disait « fier » de son travail pour relier « les branches traditionnelles de l’opposition en Russie, libérale et soi-disant nationaliste ». Il expliquait alors garder « des vues conservatrices » sur le plan migratoire, souhaitant notamment l’introduction de visas pour les ressortissants des ex-Républiques soviétiques d’Asie centrale.

Who Is Aleksei Navalny ? NYT Once Knew, but Has Since Forgotten
▻https://fair.org/home/who-is-aleksei-navalny-nyt-once-knew-but-has-since-forgotten

Of course, the fact that there were people who turned out in support of Navalny doesn’t really tell you anything at all about who he actually is. For that, the Times audio team would have been better off going to the Times archives, where they would have found a profile of Navalny from 2011. After telling readers that he has “Nordic good looks, a caustic sense of humor and no political organization,” Troianovski’s predecessor Ellen Barry (12/9/11) related some rather more relevant background:

He has appeared as a speaker alongside neo-Nazis and skinheads, and once starred in a video that compares dark-skinned Caucasus militants to cockroaches. While cockroaches can be killed with a slipper, he says that in the case of humans, “I recommend a pistol.”

It’s not much of a cliffhanger, but the Times turns out to have known who Navalny is for almost 10 years.

Dictator vs. democrat? Not quite: Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is no progressive hero
▻https://www.salon.com/2017/04/02/dictator-vs-democrat-not-quite-russian-opposition-leader-alexey-navalny-is-no

Many Navalny supporters are extremely anti-immigrant, particularly when it comes to newcomers from the Caucasus and Central Asia. Many see Putin as playing a part in the destruction of the traditional fabric of Russia. Navalny himself has played a role in skinhead marches in Moscow and earned the sympathies of extremists. In other words, if he were an American, liberals would hate Navalny far more than they hate Trump or Steve Bannon — and yet he is glorified and exalted as Russia’s last, best hope.

Navalny has been a co-organizer of the “Russian March” — an annual parade that uses slogans like “Russia for the Russians” and “Stop feeding the Caucasus”. He was expelled from one of the country’s liberal parties (Yabloko) for essentially damaging their brand. One of his former colleagues in that party has claimed that Navalny repeatedly used racial slurs.

In a bizarre video, Navalny appeared to compare people from the Caucasus to “cockroaches” that need to be exterminated. While cockroaches can be killed with a slipper, he says, for humans he “recommends a pistol.” Navalny supporters claim it’s all just a joke.