Don't give up.
That was the answer Alexei Navalny gave during an interview for the 2022 documentary Navalny when asked what message he would leave behind to the Russian people if he were ever jailed or killed.
"If they decide to kill me," Navalny continued in Russian, "it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes. We don't realize how strong we actually are."
He ended his message with a quote often attributed to 18th century Irish politician Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Russian officials reported Friday that Navalny died at a federal penal colony above the Arctic Circle. He was 47.
Navalny has long been an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He almost died when members of the Kremlin attempted to assassinate him in 2020 using nerve agent poison. He survived and recovered in Germany before returning to Russia, where he'd been jailed ever since.
Daniel Roher — the director behind Navalny, which won Best Documentary Feature at the 2023 Academy Awards — spoke with LAist about Navalny's lasting impact and his takeaways from the time they spent together during the filming of the documentary.
“This was something that we were all thinking about as we were making the film," Roher said. "It's something that Navalny, having survived previous assassination attempts, certainly was thinking about. Yet in spite of that, there was something about the news this morning. In addition to just leaving me feeling gutted and angry, I was also so surprised. Why now? Why in this moment?”
“He wanted to usher in what he called the beautiful Russia of the future. A Russia that was democratic, a Russia that was free, that was free of corruption, which is a problem that plagues the country," Roher added. "He wanted to reintroduce Russia to this global community in this 21st century. And of course, going up against an authoritarian strongman like Vladimir Putin is very tricky work and the personal danger that he took on as a result of his activism was immense.”
“[His death] was something that we were all thinking about as we were making the film. It's something that Navalny, having survived previous assassination attempts, certainly was thinking about."
“Navalny was a guy who was charismatic and funny, and would want to just sit around have a beer and talk about politics or filmmaking or whatever he was interested in in that moment. And it really does feel for me that a light has gone out in this world, and I think that this loss will reverberate for decades and decades to come."
“I know that if he were here right now, he would say, ‘Okay, everyone stop crying. We're going to raise a shot, take a shot of vodka and we're going to move on because the work continues. Take this anger, take this bitterness and disappointment and sadness and let's channel it into action. As long as this regime continues, we have work to do.’”
Roher said that he has stayed in touch with Navalny and his family in the years since the documentary, and that Navalny's wife, Yulia, and daughter, Dasha, were "tearing up the dance floor" at his wedding, not long after his Oscar win.
"I love them both dearly, and I am just gutted for them."
Roher said Navalny also wrote him a letter, which he views as very special because it's hard for him to get correspondence out into the world.
“It’s now something that I will cherish forever," he said. "In it he just had a lot of gratitude for what we were able to create together, in spite of the fact that he's never seen the movie. And now I believe the film will take on a new meaning.”
Navalny is available to stream on Max.
