A posthumous trace so that his fight continues. The American publisher Knopf will publish in October the memoirs of Alexei Navalny, an opponent of Vladimir Putin's regime who died in prison in February, his widow, Yulia Navalnaïa, announced this Thursday, April 11.
This book, called “Patriot”
in
its English version, will be published on October 22. “Through its pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply – a man of profound integrity and unwavering courage. Sharing his story will not only honor his memory, but also inspire others to stand up for what is right and never lose sight of the values that truly matter,” his widow told the New York Times.
A book started after his poisoning attempt
The enemy of Putin and the Kremlin, as usual, surrounded himself with his team to complete the writing of his book. On Telegram, its spokesperson Kira Iarmysh returned to the genesis of this text, which dates back to 2020 and the attempted poisoning of which Navalny was the victim. He had been treated in Germany for several months after spending more than two weeks in a coma.
“It was October 2020 when Alexei called me as I was leaving the office: Come to Germany, there is work.” “He had decided to write a book. An autobiography ".
A pattern then developed between the man and his spokesperson: “He dictated, I wrote. Alexei had a rare talent for getting straight to the point. ". This work in pairs lasted a few weeks, until the opponent's return to Russia and his imprisonment in January 2021. He completed the writing of this work in detention.
“When he was in prison, people told me:
Alexei writes so well, I wish
he would write a book
! remembers Kira Iarmysh. I wanted to shout:
But he writes! He writes !
» Decision was made to “keep secret” about this project, as long as he was detained.
500,000 copies and 11 languages
In a message published on memories. I thought we would be 80 years old and he would sit at his computer by the open window. And I would be busy grumbling that the grandchildren were about to arrive and that he was busy with trivialities,” she wrote.
For a long time, Alexeï Navalny did not want to hear about any book. “What kind of biography do you write at 44? He was only halfway through his life,” summarizes his widow, before continuing: “And then what happened happened. Horribly and very unfairly. It turned out there was no other half.”
“Patriot” will be printed in 500,000 copies initially, the opponent's team announced on X. It will also contain “unpublished correspondence” written from his prison. The book will be published worldwide and has already been translated into no less than eleven languages, including Russian, said Yulia Navalnaïa. However, it did not specify whether the foreign versions would be released on the same date. It is also unknown whether a French version is planned at this time.