rc101: about why supporting navalny prolongs genocide in Ukraine.

here's what really bothers survivors of russian colonialism about him.

Russian Colonialism 101 is the first newsletter to shed light on Russian colonialism and is part of the Volya Hub network.

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• ‘why are you so obsessed with him?’

• ‘he is not your real enemy, putin is!’

• ‘so he said some upsetting stuff years ago, but the important thing is that he wants a better russia’

• ‘you are helping putin!’

These are just some of the reactions I get from foreigners for criticizing the Russian opposition leader. Several days ago, a western reporter asked for a comment to explain what’s going on, too: ‘I have been noticing the deepening divide between the Russian opposition and Ukrainians. Do I understand correctly you do not believe in any genuine Russian opposition to the war, or does this apply to Navalny in particular?’ It made me realize that many abroad still don’t understand what really triggers Ukrainians and other survivors of Russian colonialism about foreign support for Russian opposition.

First, it is not like the issue is a new one - the facts are just one search away. Navalny’s long record of racist, imperial and colonial comments is well-documented. The record he has never owned or apologised for. Nor is this pattern exclusive just to the man: modern Russian opposition is unapologetically imperial, racist, and colonial, too. Examples keep coming literally every day: from viral footage of a lone Russian woman protesting the war in Ukraine but still utilising colonial propaganda, to a pro-Navalny rally of Russian refugees in Georgia shutting down indigenous women for criticising them. As the popular saying goes, the only thing the ‘good Russians’ opposition is good at is opposing Ukrainians and other survivors of Russian colonialism.

Nata Druhak@nata_druhak

Russians have the audacity to protest in support of Navalny in Tbilisi. In 2008, Navalny supported the invasion of Georgia, called to expell all Georgians from Russia and called them “rodents”. In 2014, he said that “Crimea is and will be a part of russia”. https://t.co/l94VRxpyh6

Georgian 🇬🇪 🇺🇦 @GeorgianTwt

«Весь ваш парад – это лицемерие!» На митинг в поддержку Навального в Тбилиси пришли грузинка и украинка, они выступили против собрания и заявили, что все россияне – имперцы 🫶♥️ https://t.co/wbaOHrthZ9

9:03 AM · Jan 22, 2023

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Second, the only reason why so few foreigners know about this record is that