Russia

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“Sudden death syndrome”

Alexi Navalnay’s mother has been told that her son died of “sudden death syndrome” (SDS). Alexi would appear to be the latest victim of what seems to be an a growing epidemic of this unexplained cause of morbidity.

It appears that genetics may play a part as it seems to be mainly Russians who suffer from it although there have been non-Russian cases also.

Those researching the disease have noticed it seems to be related to those with an underlying case of “democracy” which itself appears to be quite a healthy syndrome. In fact it is estimated that there are millions of Russians infected with this but do not exhibit any systems publicly and can thus live to a ripe old age.

The problems begin when individuals present with outward signs of democracy. This seems to mark the onset of SDS which, initially may not be fatal. Those with limited symptoms who occasionally parade them in public can suddenly be struck down with severe pains to their back, head and other parts of their body which some have described as like being beaten with a base ball bat.

Others who have gathered together with fellow sufferers have complained of a severe burning sensation in their eyes and nose leading to real difficulty breathing. Often this is accompanied by the pains mentioned above.

Victims who exhibit persistent symptoms of democracy are often taken to local treatment centres and treated with electric shocks and cold baths. This sometimes works although it may leave the victim with long term medical and mental issues and an inability to secure employment. Ironically, in many cases the treatment can lead to an even more virulent version of democracy.

The most unfortunate cases are those where their infection becomes widely known and they become a real focus for the spread of the disease. These individuals are taken to remote, specialist treatment centres. The centres are often in very cold climates presumably as part of the process of attempting to contain the disease. Sometimes individuals need to be kept in total isolation so as to prevent the possibility of cross contamination with other patients or indeed staff at the facility.

It is when individuals exhibit these advanced symptoms of democracy that they become at risk of SDS. At this point the pathology becomes completely baffling as it seems the final step can be triggered by the most mundane of events. Those recorded to date include: catching ones leg on an umbrella, drinking a cup of tea, opening the front door of ones home and various versions of lead poisoning. Some sufferers seem to have to take matters into their own hands by blowing themselves up in their cars or leaping out of apartment windows.

Victims can be struck down in their homes or in the street, within Russia or abroad. They seem to often be subject to an attack in a pubic space, say, somewhere like outside the Kremlin in Moscow.

Occasionally a victim will exhibit symptoms but survive the initial episode. Following this they may be subject to forced removal to a special facility to be helped. Sadly, the victim may still succumb to SDS which may be triggered by something as innocent as a walk in the forrest.

Fortunately, much work is being done by those at risk of the syndrome in attempting to identify how the malignant transformation of benign democracy into malignant SDS occurs. There seems to be a growing understanding of the pathology of the disease and specifically the primary agent causing the transformation. The problem they are wrestling with at the moment is how to eradicate that agent once and for all. We must all wish them luck with that work.

Ed. The above is as credible as any previous explanation of the death of opponents of Vladimir Putin and in the current case, given the previous and various attempts on his life, more credible than any statement that has or will come out of the Kremlin on the matter. According to Wikipedia, in Mein Kampf Hitler talked about the source of the credibility of the colossal lie as being the fact people could not believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously”. Clearly Putin has taken this lesson to heart. Whatever happens leaders in the West need to remember this particularly if the unthinkable happens in the United States next year.

One can only hope there is a circle of hell in which Putin spends eternity waking up each day to the knowledge that he will experience a new version of SDS and that it will be worse than the day before.

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Alexi Navalny RIP

The death today is yet another example of what happens to critics of Vladimir Putin. An incredibly brave and industrious searcher for truth. His humanity and commitment to democracy in sharp contrast to that of the man who had him locked up and murdered after his first assassination attempt failed.

This is the man that ex President Trump said could do what he wanted to those states in NATO that did not invest 2% of their GDP in defence! If ever two threats to democracy deserved each other.

Here’s an example of Alexi’s work exposing the corrupt excesses of Putin world. It illustrates the enthusiasm and raw energy of a genuine patriot who cared for his country and ultimately gave his life trying to preserve it from the predatory gangsters led by Putin.

This is a sad day for Russia and the Russian people.

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The Trials of Tyranny

President Putin is having a difficult time at the moment. Now that former president Trump has left office Putin has moved into the number one spot of most pressing threat to liberal democracies albeit probably not the long term greatest.

His arrest of the man he tried to have assassinated, Alexi Navalny, on his return to Russia has not gone well. First, tens of thousands of Russians in cities across the enormous country turned out in freezing weather to protest leading to some 5k arrests.

You can understand why President Putin does not see eye to eye with Mr Navalny given the latter’s remorseless focus on the former’s corruption. The YouTube video recounting some of the President’s early career and the development of Putin Palace has been downloaded by 6m+ people but has also been accessed via a range of other sites.

The video is the best part of two hours long and narrated at breakneck speed by Mr Navalny. Some will no doubt suggest this is simply an opposition politician trying to besmirch his opponent. However, much of the information about the President’s early career with the Stassi in Dresden, the Mayors office in St Petersburg and the Yeltsin government in Moscow ties closely with that provided by others notably Cathrine Belton’s excellent book “Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West.”

Of course the Russian leaders duplicity is not something lacking evidence. His explicit rejection of any suggestion that his countries troops were in the Crimean peninsula until he annexed it in 2014. His denial of any involvement in the deaths of a number of people all of whom were opponents and critics, specifically threatened by the president before they were killed. Then of course there were the attempted assassinations of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and Mr Navalny with the use of weapon grade Novichok nerve agent. None of which he knew anything about.

If all those protests a were not enough, he then has a phone conversation with the new President of the United States. This time the content of the call was made public by the White House and not the Kremlin in a break with recent tradition. Also the tone seems to have been somewhat different. It was not a cosy chat about the many things Russia and the US have in common!

President Biden raised a number of awkward matters. Notably the ongoing cyber attack on the US, Russias’s actions in the Ukraine, its attempts to interfere in the 2016 and 2020 elections and specifically the attempt to assassinate Mr Navalny, and his arrest on his return to Moscow. Further, president Biden did not come off the call to announce that he had been reassured by president Putin that all these things were not true, or grossly exaggerated by hostile press coverage and president Biden’s own misinformed National Intelligence agencies.

All of this must have made Putin long for happier times, before the November US election. Many would think that after twenty years being top tyrant and an increasingly hostile environment the attractions of retirement would start to grow in President Putin’s mind. Unfortunately, this is not so simple, even if he was tempted.

One of the biggest problems of being a tyrant is how you step down with out getting killed. As top tyrant you can only stay there by destroying or cowing all alternative centres of power, like a free press and independent judiciary. That is all ok when you can rely on people with guns doing as you tell them. The minute you cannot you are at the mercy of whoever is next top tyrant.

This creates something of a vicious circle. You are loath to stand down for the reason suggested above so you have to remain in power. But in order to remain top tyrant, you have to keep all aspiring top tyrants in fear of you. Over time this begins to rub more and more of them up the wrong way. You notice this and redouble your efforts to instil fear, and so on until…

There is no doubt President Putin is a shrewd operator and had built a veritable army of supporters who depend absolutely on his patronage. However, when the economy is performing terribly, and at the same time as wages and pensions are stagnant the states coffers are being pillaged to build Imperial Palaces tempers fray.

As a court decides the fate of Mr Navalny it is very likely that telephone justice will prevail and a call from the Kremlin will determine the views of the justices. But the Kremlin may be thinking very hard about what the call should say. Opposition is growing and it is difficult to know whether Mr Navalny is more of a threat outside and campaigning or inside and a continuing focus on Russian injustice. Sadly, I suspect president Putin will revert to his standard playbook and imprison his opponent.

However he should keep in mind that there is no rule says countries can only have one revolution.