17/02/2024
A couple of days ago Aleksei Navalny died in a prison inside the Arctic Circle known as "Polar Wolf". It's in a small settlement called Kharp in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, where I worked for nearly 4 years, running a gold mining and exploration company. In fact, our maintenance garage for machinery was right next to the prison where Navalny was held, and we even used to employ inmates from Polar Wolf, and its sister camp, Polar Owl (for lifers, mainly murderers) on 3-week stints. They were often more enthusiastic workers than our own, as being out of the prison gave them the opportunity for something that felt almost like freedom. Having spent time in Kharp and seen the prison from outside, I can only imagine how horrendous being an inmate might be. One indication of conditions is that in order to work in the region, I had to take regular tuberculosis scans, as released inmates often infect the local population. Navalny's death, whatever you might think of his politics, is just a small demonstration of much larger and sadder issues within Russian politics and society, and his death is a tragedy heaped on top of so many others, that makes feeling hopeful about Russia's future harder than ever. May he rest in peace, and I hope that his supporters will continue to fight for a free and just Russia for future generations.
