Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved to silence political dissonance with impunity throughout his time in power. The attempted assassination of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Novichok attack is the most recent and perhaps most dramatic instance of this. Described by the Wall Street Journal as “the man Vladimir Putin fears most,” Navalny plans to return to Russia from Germany once his recovery is complete. This comes as new reports suggest that Putin will again attempt to assassinate him upon his return.
The revelations – which reportedly come from three NATO intelligence sources – claim that Navalny may believe that his back will be shielded by German threats to end its gas pipeline deal with Russia if Navalny’s safety is not guaranteed. However, this judgment may be naive. NATO members have a history of responding in an underwhelming manner to Russian security threats. This trend will likely be exacerbated in the face of Trump’s ever-heightening desire to maintain amicable relations with Putin and the Kremlin.
Ron,
There can be little doubt that Putin does see Navalny as a threat, though it’s hard to say how serious a threat he actually represents given that Putin now has near-total control of the Russian media. That said, the record of attempted assassinations (via poisoning) is long and well substantiated. And the fact that the last two have been done with Novichuk, which was developed by the Soviet military and is still only available from that sources indicates strongly that this was NOT a rogue operation. Navalny is a very brave man to return to Russia; but his days may still be numbered. –Professor Wallerstein