To the editor: Until last Friday, I entertained the fantasy that Russian President Vladimir Putin would suddenly lose power. Elections would be held in Russia and imprisoned dissident Alexei Navalny would be elected by an honest popular vote. Freed from his arctic gulag, he would declare an immediate end to the Ukrainian war and apologize to the world for the petulant and narcissistic acts of his predecessor. (“Putin’s rival Alexei Navalny dies in prison, Russian authorities say,” February 16)
With Navalny in power, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the rest of the civilized world would welcome Russia with open arms. We could all cut our collective defense spending in half and focus our attention on the real threat we face: environmental collapse.
Unfortunately, that fantasy was shattered with the murder of Navalny in prison.
Now I have a new fantasy: that Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, decides to run for the Russian presidency and is elected with a landslide victory. Once he leaves power, Putin is sentenced to life in prison and sent to the same Arctic gulag where Navalny died.
Robert Johnson, Santa Barbara
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To the editor: Millions of freedom-loving people in Russia and elsewhere in the world held the unlikely but passionate hope that Navalny would emerge from his unjust imprisonment and be elected democratic leader to replace the autocratic and authoritarian Tsar Vladimir Putin.
Until Navalny's death, that succession, although remote, was a possibility. After all, Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa after spending 27 years in prison.
May Navalny's memory and courage keep the flame of democracy in Russia burning.
Dan Caldwell, Malibu
The writer is professor emeritus of political science at Pepperdine University, where he taught Russian and Soviet politics for three decades.
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To the editor: I am dismayed by the crazy walkout by House Republicans to prevent a vote on funding Ukraine, which could threaten peace in Europe.
Navalny, a true Russian patriot, was just assassinated by the Kremlin's thug, and far-right commentator Tucker Carlson is waxing lyrical about the wonders of a Moscow grocery store. The leader of the Republican Party cult was just fined $355 million for committing fraud in New York.
It is said that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. In the 1930s and early 1940s, isolationism and even some support for Adolf Hitler in the United States curbed U.S. support for the Allies, until we too were attacked.
Wake up people. Biden may be old, but he is a decent and experienced American patriot, unlike the alternative.
Catherine Babington-Plake, Long Beach
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To the editor: Indeed, it is a sad time for humanity around the world due to the death of Navalny. He spoke truth to power against authoritarianism, including state lies, corruption and militarism.
The United States rightly mourns Navalny's passing, but it should also look in the mirror when it comes to the persecution of Julian Assange.
Salvador Jimenez, Los Angeles
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To the editor: What Putin does not understand is that an enemy who is confined in prison remains there. However, an enemy who is killed in prison becomes a martyr whose life and ideas proliferate beyond those walls.
Gail McClain, Laguna Beach
