What a dreadful time this is! Yesterday brought news that Vladimir Putin’s No. 1 political hostage — Alexei Navalny — had died while imprisoned in Russian penal colony IK-3 in Siberia. And the world groaned, and wept, and cursed the man who put him there to die.

For make no mistake . . . that was the intention from the very beginning, when he was poisoned (but unexpectedly survived), then arrested and imprisoned again, then sent off to the frozen wasteland inside the Arctic Circle where no one from the outside could see how it really happened.

And now — while Putin smirks and disingenuously claims that he can’t keep track of every single prisoner across Russia — we wait to learn whether the United Nations’ request for an independent investigation will be honored, and when, or if, Alexei Navalny’s family will be allowed to receive his body for proper burial.

And while we wait, we also wonder: Is there anyone, inside or outside of Russia, willing and able to step into the shoes of this courageous and able man? For surely he was unique, and possibly irreplaceable. And Putin’s “win” will be, as always, Russia’s loss.

But in our grief, we must not forget the other brave men and women who languish in Russian prisons for allegedly having broken one of Putin’s tyrannical new laws by speaking against the regime, or simply calling a war a war. They must be brought home before even one more is lost. Their families need them, and the world needs them.

Their power resides in their words . . .

Please . . . bring them home!

Brendochka
2/17/24