Alexei Navalny Archives - Public Seminar

Activism

Should Universities Just Leave?

How can institutions fostering open inquiry survive authoritarian assaults?

October 23, 2025 • by Anastasija Mladenovska

Over the past year, I have tracked the journeys of five universities caught in the crosshairs of authoritarian pressure: Central European University (CEU) in Hungary; the Higher School of Economics (HSE) and the European University at St. Petersburg (EUSP) in Russia; Nazarbayev University (NU) in Kazakhstan; and the American University ...

Europe & Central Asia

New School Community Statement on Navalny’s Assassination and in Support of Ukraine

Revolution will not accrue interest in a safe deposit box

March 6, 2024 • by Inessa Medzhibovskaya

The cowardly assassination of Alexei Navalny in Putin's Russia shocks the world. His tragic self-sacrifice, defying logic as he exchanged safety for arrest and murder, symbolizes a solitary hero's stand against state power. ...

New School Community Statement on Navalny’s Assassination and in Support of Ukraine

Democracy

The Man Who Was Too Strong

Alexei Navalny will forever remain a symbol of hope for change in Russia

February 20, 2024 • by Anastasia Shteinert

One of the first rallies I covered as a journalist was the "voters' strike" in January 2018 in Saint Petersburg. Navalny declared the strike when he was barred from participating in the presidential elections due to his criminal record. Navalny's work and his courage often inspired me to continue my ...

Europe & Central Asia

From Putin’s Chef to Kremlin’s Chief?

Why Yevgeny Prigozhin, a leader of the Wagner Group, can’t challenge Putin for power

February 14, 2023 • by Anastasia Shteinert

So long as Putin retains his legitimacy as a “strong leader,” it is extremely premature to talk about an impending coup or a threat from Prigozhin or anyone else....

<strong>From Putin’s Chef to Kremlin’s Chief?</strong>

Europe & Central Asia

The Russian Resistance to Putin Has Just Begun

“I stand for peace in Ukraine and freedom in Russia. If I get arrested—well, let it be.”

March 1, 2022 • by Anastasia Shteinert

Since President Putin launched the war on Ukraine on February 24, thousands of people in more than 65 Russian cities have taken to the streets for anti-war protests. ...

The Russian Resistance to Putin Has Just Begun

Feature

Vladimir Putin’s Mirror Image

Alexei Navalny and his populist political representation

February 8, 2019 • by Konstantin Koryagin

In March 2017 the largest anti-corruption rallies in the last five years were held in Russia. What was most surprising about these rallies was the age of the participants: many of those protesting were students and pupils, who took to the streets with a sense of excitement in their eyes. ...

Feature

Russia’s Choice

Voting in predetermined elections

April 5, 2018 • by Ivan Makeyenko

On March 18, Russian citizens faced a painfully familiar dilemma — to vote or not to vote. What on the surface may look like a simple choice between exercising an inalienable right and sinking into political apathy is, in fact, much more delicate and nuanced. For many of us election ...