Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the gust of wind that blew over Alexei Navalny’s portrait at the start of the vigil on Friday evening was given a fitting follow-up a little later with the song ‘Blowin in the wind’ by Bob Dylan. “His spirit is still around,” shouted one of the dozens of people who attended the vigil in memory of the late Russian opposition leader on Main Street.
Organizer Amnesty International was satisfied with the ‘beautiful’ turnout of the public at the memorial meeting on the square in front of the Hoofdstraat Church. Shortly before the commemoration, one of the board members of the Hoogeveen department had explained to a curious young person why the ceremony was being held. He wanted to know who Navalny was and whether it was Putin himself who had killed him. “No, not that,” he was told, “but I do think he gave the order for it.”
‘Navalny’s voice will live on’, the text under the photo of President Putin’s critic, was also a common thread through the speeches of the speakers, which were alternated with moments of silence, songs and poems on Friday evening. . Aya Wolting, chair of the Hoogeveen branch of Amnesty International, was stunned when she heard news of Navalny’s death on the radio last week. “Then I thought: they succeeded after all.”
Deep respect
She expressed her admiration for the man who, according to Wolting, dared to take on President Putin. “Navalny exposed the corruption of a regime that stops at nothing.” Wolting also showed deep respect for the fact that the opposition leader returned to Russia from Germany. “He felt that he could continue to fight the Russian regime there.”
Navalny spent some time in Germany to be treated for the consequences of the poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok. Even then, the Russian authorities were widely accused of being behind the nerve agent attack. Navalny recovered miraculously and returned to Russia, where he was arrested immediately after his arrival. He served his prison sentence until last week in a prison camp near the Arctic Circle. There he allegedly became unwell during a walk and died.
At the end of her speech, Aya Wolting pointed to the Amnesty International logo, the burning candle surrounded by barbed wire as a symbol of the ongoing struggle for human rights. “We must keep that candle burning as long as it is necessary,” she stated.
Freedom of speech
Councilor Derk Reneman endorsed Wolting’s words. He also called attention to human rights important. In that context, Reneman pointed out that human rights and opposition are not self-evident everywhere. “It is terrible that there is no attention for opposition in other countries. Because it is precisely opposition that triggers discussion that improves.” According to the councilor, freedom of expression is inextricably linked to democracy.
Reneman also reflected on the war that has been going on for two years between Russia and Ukraine. “My heart bleeds for Ukraine,” he said. At the end of the vigil, an Amnesty representative also reflected on the fact that February 24, one day after the vigil, marks two years since Russia invaded Ukraine.