Russians are daring to dream of life after Putin

Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition figure, demonstrated unfathomable courage in returning home after the Kremlin had poisoned him with Novichok. Arrested on arrival, Navalny is now holed up in Moscow’s notorious Sailor’s Silence transit prison. Yet as he languishes behind bars, Navalny poses his greatest threat yet to Vladimir Putin’s regime. And today, on the streets of Russia, things could come to a head in the fight between Navalny and Putin.

This week, Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation released its biggest exposé yet: a YouTube investigation of Putin’s voracious greed. Providing new, detailed images of the Russian president’s gargantuanly gauche billion-dollar palace, the video has been watched 50 million times in just 72 hours. It has eclipsed Navalny’s 2017 video investigation into then-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev’s property empire, which sparked large-scale protests and is seen as contributing to the demise of Medvedev’s career.

With these viewing figures, the Kremlin is understandably nervous ahead of Saturday’s protests, ordering Tik Tok and other social media to ban calls to protest, threatening teachers and parents to stop children from attending, and arresting Navalny’s associates.