An opposition activist tells NPR that Putin’s grip on power is less strong than it appears

Don’t Give Up on a Better Russia despite President Putin’s Assassination: A Reflection of Navalny

And the harsh truth is that most of Putin’s reign, ordinary people were getting better and better lives because of this oil excess money. But for some time the economy is stagnating and the economy is not adapting. They are not fighting all the issues within the economy, but they are pouring money in to solve the problems with more money.

Miniailo told Mary Louise Kelly that democracy is still possible in Russia despite the fact that President Putin has taken a hard line on dissent.

It’s not surprising that it’s dramatic and tragic as when Alexei’s assassination occurs, but it’s something that doesn’t change the table.

It was pretty hard, actually, because Navalny is a very important symbolic figure. Navalny is an important person for many people, even if they do not have feelings about other people being murdered.

The title of your article was “Don’t Give Up on a Better Russia.” Do you still feel that even after the events of last week, even after Navalny’s death?

Vladimir Petrovich Alexei: A personal example for Russian democratization in the time after the war and the collapse of the Soviet Union

Miniailo: Yes, of course. When it comes to democracy, it depends on regular people, not just on leaders of political parties or of the opposition, and on ordinary people, not just big figures.

If we would say that, “Navalny died, so now there will be no democracy in Russia,” that means that all our job was futile, and all that Alexei did was futile. But it is not so. He introduced a lot of people to politics. For a long time he was not some kind of solitary figure, he raised many prominent political figures.

He was always making people happy. When we are talking about the chance that Russia might become democratic, such figures are very, very important. But ultimately, it all depends on the people.

Miniailo: It’s not an easy thing to do, but it does work when the personal example is present. He set a personal example for someone with an oppositional conviction to risk his life for what he believes in, to stand up for what he believes in.

These examples are important because they allow us to become better versions of ourselves, and ultimately to do more for Russia’s democratization.

Miniailo: This is expected. It is hard. But we knew that such things would come to be, and that Putin will kill more of his opponents, that more repression will follow for some time before the regime weakens. It all happens. It might happen another way.

And maybe in a year when you reach out to talk with me about something else, you won’t be able to, because I will be in prison or saw something else might happen. It doesn’t change the situation, which is the regime is running out of fuel. They don’t have one thing that empires have, which is a civilizational vision of the future, how the society might work, how the society might improve the lives of the people within the empire.

Around $50-$60 billion from this fund was spent over the course of two years. He will run out of extra funds at the end of the year. So he will have a very hard time after that financing the war and financing his repressions, which he will, of course, continue at the expense of the people.

But when he runs out of money, you will have much harder time solving these problems, which will lead to more and more people being unhappy with their regime, and that will impose a more severe threat to his power than activists laying flowers to commemorate Navalny and Boris Nemtsov.

Kelly: I want to ask about you. You’re talking to me from Moscow. You’re critical of Putin and his role. How dangerous is that?

Miniailo: I don’t know. We’ll see. I don’t believe in everything, but I think in some things. I censor myself, but every time I say something I’m wondering what will happen. Will it change anything? And then somehow try to weigh the risks as well.

How to get to Russia? A feminist friend’s guide to the next steps in Putin’s regime and his legacy of a free Russia

In the autumn of 2011. Mr. Putin made it clear that he intended to rule Russia for the rest of his life. We went to Moscow with my feminist friends to figure out our next steps. We were crazy and fun to walk through the panels with sad speakers, poetry readings and talks about human rights and democracy. It wasn’t inspiring because it was unattractive and practical. Russia had to be free, that is what we believed. How do we get there?