It seems that — despite my best intentions to turn my writing toward the lighter side — the news keeps stalking me, demanding my attention. And this item is important. (I know what you’re thinking: Aren’t they all?) Well, yes, but . . .

At last, we have a surprising update on Russian HOSTAGE Alexei Navalny, from his new prison “home” — sardonically nicknamed “Polar Wolf” — in the outer reaches of nowhere: the Yamal-Nenets Region of Siberia, some 40 miles inside the Arctic Circle.

In his first public appearance (via video link) since being transferred to Russian Penal Colony IK-3, Navalny — head shaven and generally appearing gaunt and unwell —was yet able to smile thinly and joke. Speaking of the brutal conditions, he said that it is “a very cold place,” and that “they take newspapers here to cover up” — it’s “much warmer to sleep with [the newspaper] than without it.” [CNN, Jan. 12, 2024.]

But he wasn’t kidding about the cold; according to AccuWeather, the high temperature yesterday in Kharp, Russia, where the prison is located, was minus-17 degrees Fahrenheit, the low minus-22 . . . not to mention that the daylight hours extended all the way from sunup at 10:45 a.m. to sundown at 2:54 p.m. — a total of 4 hours and 9 minutes of pale sunlight. I’d call that brutal.

He also spoke of “meal breaks” — ten minutes in which to eat “two pieces of disgusting bread” and try to wash it down with “two mugs of boiling water.” No tea bag. He says it is impossible to eat “like a normal person,” and that this is obviously done “solely to keep the prisoners from being normal.” [CNN, Jan. 12, 2024.] His complaints to the authorities were, of course, summarily dismissed by the courts.

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The CNN video was also able to capture pictures of Navalny and other prisoners — mostly hard-core, violent, repeat criminals — working in what appears to be a laundry of some sort, though from the appearance of the materials at hand, they may have been processing animal skins. At least the men seem to be warmly dressed for the photo op.

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One of Navalny’s team — Kira Yarmysh, a well-known Russian writer and his press secretary and aide since 2014 — has spoken of the difficulty of monitoring his condition in this new location . . . a condition that she said has “shifted” (presumably meaning it has deteriorated). Her work on Navalny’s behalf has earned her multiple arrests and detentions in Russia; she now lives in exile somewhere in Europe, where she continues to advocate tirelessly for his release and for his organization’s anti-corruption cause.

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That was the extent of the video (as seen online) before the doors again slammed shut on this one brief view of the prisoner . . . no, not prisoner — HOSTAGE . . . Alexei Navalny.

If this pathetic nod to freedom of the press was intended to reassure Navalny’s family and friends of his well-being, it failed miserably. What was confirmed to the world, however, is that he is in a desperate situation, dealing with untreated health issues, and consigned to one of the worst places on Earth for the next 30 years. You may say that at least he is still alive. But he is in a living hell of Vladimir Putin’s creation.

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Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and all the other HOSTAGES — Russian, American, or otherwise — falsely imprisoned for strictly political reasons, must be released. I cannot say it often, or urgently, enough.

Brendochka
1/16/24