Navalny’s death causes a tremor. Sadly, not a colossal earthquake.

Alexei Navalny was an indomitable spirit, a courageous man, whose death in an isolated prison is being mourned in much of the world. Unlike the dictators described below, Navalny give us a sense of an honorable man, a visionary with a clear conscience.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who comes from a ruthless KGB culture, has now undoubtedly tightened his grip on the Russian state. He will not be deposed soon.

Putin’s war with Navalny has deep roots. Three years ago, Russian agents poisoned Navalny with a nerve agent in London, England. Navalny somehow survived that attack and continued his opposition inside Russia, on the way to being imprisoned for his tireless efforts to expose Putin’s methods. Then, with Putin’s pending re-election to another six-year term as president, Putin had Navalny murdered in the Siberian prison where he was being held.

Putin’s invasion and ruthless bombing of Ukraine has been underway now for nearly two years. At first, the military campaign was less successful than Putin would have liked. When his relationship with Prigozhin’s private army, the Warner Group, became inconvenient, a mysterious plane crash killed Prigozhin and some of his followers. Very recently, the Russian pilot, Kuzminov, who had defected to Ukraine, was killed (by guess who?) in Spain. The pilot had been called a ‘Moral Corpse’ by Moscow.

Meanwhile, former American President Donald Trump continues to be supported blindly by many in the United States. For their part, Democrats, worried traditional Republicans, women, former staff members, former business associates, and loyal upholders of the American Constitution, live in fear of Trump and everything he stands for.
 
Trump said recently that he would encourage Putin to invade any NATO member country that is not spending at least two percent of its GDP on defense. Canada is one of those countries. Of course, some will say that these comments were made by Trump in the relaxed setting of a rally with his Make America Great Again (MAGA) base. Yet, his words instill fear in the minds of many NATO leaders. And, of course, Trump’s comments lent legitimacy to Putin’s continuing reign of terror.
 
The response of American President Joe Biden to Navalny’s death has been weak, at best. He commented: “Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death. Putin is responsible.” Biden later upped his remarks, calling Putin a “crazy S.O.B.” Still, Biden conceded that it would be hard to inflict devastating consequences on Russia. “We are contemplating what else could be done,” he said.
 
Dictators like Donald Trump and Putin thrive on control. As long as they have control, no matter what it takes, or whoever they hurt or destroy, dictators are happy. When the early part of the Russian-Ukrainian war did not go well for Putin, he looked unsettled. He had the same look dealing with the wayward Russian military man, Prigozhin.
 
The British newspaper, The Guardian, reported this past weekend, that after the death of Navalny, Putin was in a festive mood visiting workers in a Russian factory. He is back in control. In a photograph of him doing his factory tour, he appeared self-satisfied, confident, like the proud cat in the cartoon that swallowed the canary.
 
 At the same time, the war with Ukraine is going better for Russia, with its new weapons that can pierce Ukraine’s defense shield. Then there is the squabble of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky with his top general. Russia has recently been making gains in the ground war, as well.
 
Will the flame of Navalny’s opposition to the Putin regime continue to burn after his death?
His wife, Julia Navalnaya remains resolute, a commendable force, but hardly likely to strike fear into the heart of Putin. She says: “I want to continue Alexei Navalny’s work…I want to live in a free Russia; I want to build a free Russia. I ask you to share with me the rage…not only grief and endless pain.”
 
The grip of the Russian bear on Russian citizens continues to be alarming. Since Navalny’s death, 396 people have been detained in thirty-nine cities at vigils in his memory. This is far from being a mass uprising against Russian regime, and obviously Putin knows this. If there are flare-ups, he will simply crush them.
 
Vladimir Putin will win his re-election. It will take a great deal to dislodge Donld Trump from his lead position in the American Presidential election. Unfortunately, Putin and Trump are allies in a troubled world.