Seventy-five or so members of Chicago’s Russian community demonstrated on Michigan Avenue this afternoon in support of Alexei Navalny and against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The gathering lasted no more than an hour, but the effort was nevertheless a powerful condemnation of Putin, his repression of free elections and expression in Russia, and his war against the Ukrainian people.

Navalny, who is a 46-year old Russian-born lawyer, is one of the planet’s most courageous citizens—to put it bluntly, the guy has balls of brass, and then some. He is the leader of the Russia of the Future party, advocating for the end of corruption in Russia, and concomitantly, the end of Putin’s reign. He has run for office, led demonstrations, and called out corruption.

Putin’s regime has responded to Navalny’s efforts by first attempting to kill him, and then by imprisoning him. On August 20, 2020, Navalny became ill while on a plane from Tomsk to Moscow. He was flown to Berlin for treatment, where doctors determined he had been poisoned with a cholinesterase inhibitor, likely slipped into a cup of tea. Clearly, this was an assassination attempt meant to silence Navalny and intimidate his acolytes.

On January 17, 2021, Navalny returned to Russia, fully aware that he would face arrest upon his arrival, which is exactly what happened. Then, on February 2, 2021, Navalny was sentenced to a corrective labor colony. In March of 2022, he was found guilty of other offenses in a Soviet-style show trial, receiving a nine-year sentence in a maximum security prison. Putin had resurrected Stalin-era autocracy and repression. Despite a petition from 400 Russian doctors, sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom and United states following the poisoning, and outcries from around the world, Navalny remains imprisoned. Recent reports indicate that his health has deteriorated significantly.

But today’s demonstration on the sidewalk plaza adjacent to the Tribune Tower was not just about Navalny. The demonstrators held signs highlighting the names of other dissidents, together with their portraits.

During the demonstration, I was introduced to Maya Lantsova, who came to the United States in September 2022 seeking political asylum. I was told she has a website, so I asked whether she had been publishing anti-Putin material before she left Russia. She looked a bit surprised by my question, telling me that there was no way she could publish anti-Putin content while residing in Russia without then ending up in prison. She gave me her Instagram tag, so feel free to take a look at what she has been publishing now that she has the freedom to do so. The content strikes me as more art-centric than political, but I am unable to read the posts that are in Russian.

I was also impressed with the Russian community’s support for Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained in March on charges of espionage—most likely specious. He is currently awaiting trial while being held in or awaiting transfer to the notorious KGB Lefortovo Prison. I wondered whether some of the demonstrators might be Journal employees, working in the Midwest bureau.

Scattered throughout the crowd were several people with Ukrainian flags and placards. They may have been from the local Ukrainian community, but Chicago’s Russian community has stood beside the Ukrainians in condemning the Putin’s aggression against Ukraine, so they may have been Russians.

From a staging standpoint, the effort was somewhat static, with the participants standing shoulder to shoulder for the duration of the rally. There were several speeches, but some were in Russian, and most didn’t go much beyond chants. Yet, the event was inspiring. One thing I have noticed: Recent immigrants and others with deep ties to other countries, particularly when those countries are headed by repressive leaders, value the First Amendment and their right to speak freely far more fervently than many Americans whose roots go back generations. Every demonstrator knew that if the march had taken place in Moscow, each and everyone of them would have been beaten and imprisoned. Long live Alexei Navalny and the other prisoners. Hopefully the Biden Administration will obtain the release of Gershkovich sooner than later.

Note: I try to remain neutral when I write commentary, but with Navalny, as well as the war in Ukraine, I don’t see the two sides in the debate. There is only one side.

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