Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is being held in the notorious IK-6 penal colony in the Vladimir region, has published ridiculous excerpts of his correspondence with the prison administration on social media. Note: Laughter inevitable.
It is an extremely tough daily life that the political prisoner endures behind bars. Putin’s greatest enemy repeatedly complains that Russian prisons are like concentration camps. But even there, there are occasionally quite funny situations.
“If you are in solitary confinement and have little work, it is nice to correspond with the administration,” Navalny explains online. No one knows that better than him, as he has spent a total of 180 days in the punishment cell since the summer of 2022. By the way, he also celebrates his next birthday there – on June 4, the politician will turn 47, reports the independent Russian-Latvian news portal “Meduza”.
This is Navalny’s personal “best of”
Out of boredom, the Kremlin critic seems to have found pleasure in teasing prison staff. Cleverly packaged and with a good dose of cynicism, he also manages to draw attention to the unimaginable conditions in the prison.
“Following your request that the psychopath in the cell opposite be given a megaphone so that he can shout even louder, we must inform you that a megaphone should not be handed out in solitary confinement.”
“Following your request that your cellmate who killed a man with his bare hands be awarded the 10th dan (highest and therefore extremely rare master’s degree, editor’s note) in karate, we have to inform you that the administration of the institution has not responsible for the issue of assigning qualification ranks in martial arts.”
“In response to your inquiry as to whether you need a permit to keep a cockchafer, we inform you that the said insect belongs to the animal kingdom and therefore cannot be transferred to you.”
The beetle issue apparently stems from the fact that Navalny is often punished for trumped-up reasons. For example, he was accused of washing too early or not buttoning his jacket properly. Hence his logical conclusion: even a cockchafer accidentally entering his cell can kill him.
“Can I have a kangaroo?”
What he found most amusing was the prison administration’s explanation of why he was not allowed to own a kangaroo.
Will Navalny ever be released?
The Kremlin critic was arrested on his return from Germany in January 2021 and convicted of violating probation terms and fraud. In August 2020, he collapsed during a flight within Russia. First he was treated in Russia and then transferred to the Berlin Charité.
There, poisoning with a nerve gas was diagnosed. The Moscow government has denied allegations that Russian authorities attempted to assassinate him. A new trial is currently underway against him. In the absurd accusation, he is accused of preparing terrorist attacks in prison. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. So Navalny’s chances of ever being released are getting smaller and smaller.
Source: Krone
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