March 16, 2023

A Victory for Navalny


A Victory for Navalny
Yulia Navalnaya giving her speech at the 95th Academy Awards after Navalny victory. Screenshot of "NAVALNY Accepts the Oscar for Documentary Feature Film," Youtube.

Navalny, a documentary film that delves into the Russian government's plans to assassinate the anti-corruption campaigner and ex-presidential candidate, won the Oscar for best documentary feature.

In the film, Canadian director Daniel Roher presents the captivating story of Alexei Navalny's political ascent, and his remarkable survival of a poisoning attempt and subsequent incarceration in Russian prison. The Kremlin critic's condition is currently unknown, as he hasn't been able to see his family in over six months. His attorneys are only able to visit him through a "guarded veil."

The Oscars ceremony was made even more poignant by the attendance of Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's wife, and their children Daria and Zakhar. They joined the film's team and investigators – including Christo Grozev from Bellingcat and Maria Pevchikh – on stage. With poise, Navalnaya addressed her husband in her speech, "I am dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love."

Navalny's win marks an important moment in recognizing the power of documentary films to tell critical stories and create public awareness about global issues.

You Might Also Like

Outsmarting Smart Voting
  • November 01, 2021

Outsmarting Smart Voting

For the first time since 2016, and the first time since the momentous constitutional changes of 2020 allowing President Putin to run for two more presidential terms, Russia has elected a new parliament.
The Road Ahead
  • November 01, 2021

The Road Ahead

People often ask me what lies ahead for Russia. This question always surprises me. It suggests that people think historians are part prophet, as if knowing a lot about the past means you can predict the future.
  • January 16, 2023

"Stop Bullying" Navalny

Over 600 medical workers signed an open letter demanding to provide medical care to the opposition politician and stop sending him to punitive confinement.
A Pixelated Palace for Putin
  • February 09, 2021

A Pixelated Palace for Putin

Now you, too, can experience the glamor of Putin's Black Sea palace without the pricetag in the digital worlds of Minecraft.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955