Thread by @SlavaMalamud

I get a lot of questions about #Navalny. I am not the world's leading expert on the man, but I can answer most of them with enough veracity.
Specifically:
"Is it true he is a neo-Nazi/homophobe/mysogynist/anti-Semite?"
"What are the charges against him?"
"Why did he return?"...

"Why is Putin afraid of him?"
"Does he pose real danger to Putin?"

OK, let's start with the first one, because it definitely contains bad news.
Yes, Navalny has in the past openly promoted views that can only be described as white nationalist and xenophobic. No doubt here at all

He has attended and has been a vocal participant in "The Russian March", an annual gathering of right-wing nationalist groups, most of whom are unambiguously anti-semitic, anti-minority and doubtlessly homophobic. He has made videos portraying Muslims as pests...

He was an advocate of individual gun ownership for the purposes of defending one's domicile from non-Slavic "invaders."
Even though his supporters say he has tempered his views since, I have never heard him publicly renounce them, apologize or take anything back.

So, yes, he's fashy enough to be considered quite unsavory in the Western cultural context. I have never heard him voice expressly anti-Semitic views or anything too homophobic or misogynistic for Russia. His white nationalism seems to be mostly directed at migrants from Caucasus

This is not the entire picture of his political persona. He is a free-market classical liberal who supports democracy and free elections. He is moderate and mainstream on climate. He is nationalistic on Russia's foreign policy and does not support returning Crimea to Ukraine...

So, yes, it's complicated. Being his fan is a step too far for me personally.
Question 2.
The charges against him are absolutely bogus, his prosecution is illegal and baseless, his detainment is politically motivated. None of this is in any dispute, none of this is even secret...

He is charged with defrauding his business clients. Business clients who have specifically signed an affidavit saying they have no complaints with the services his company rendered. All of this is trumped up, the original trial years ago was nothing but a kangaroo court...

Question 3.
Navalny is doubtlessly gifted with the kind of personal courage few people possess. He had a choice between fighting Putin's regime from abroad and, possibly, fading into obscurity or becoming a Russian Mandela. Ironically, he chose the latter.

Questions 4/5.
Navalny is not a political threat to Putin as we understand political threats. Putin has no political opposition, because he fully controls who gets and who doesn't get to be on the ballot or on TV. Navalny will never get elected to anything in Putin's Russia...

Additionally, Navalny isn't even a unifying figure for the Russian opposition. He is a terrible team player, seems to be mostly concerned with doing his own thing and is not terribly liked by most people who know him personally. He has alienated as many allies as he's made...

And those people who like and respect Navalny mostly view him as a blogger, a reporter, an investigator, a truth-teller, a corruption fighter, but not as a potential political leader. This could also be something he aims to change by becoming a Russian Mandela.

But it is Navalny's investigative work that Putin is furious about. Navalny has exposed him and his cronies as a bunch of avaricious grifters that they are. He is showing them to be ridiculous, tacky, shameless leeches swimming in luxury and defrauding the common man...

I don't know what the proportions of hatred and terror are in the emotions Navalny elicits in Putin, but the emotion is undoubtedly strong enough to have him eliminated, even at the cost of (further) political isolation.
And now, the last question.
"Why should I support Navalny?"

Several reasons.
1. He is not great, but he is legitimately the best Russia has right now.
2. He may say lots of nonsense, but he deserves saying it as a living and free man.
3. Not all dragon-slayers are people you want to have a coffee with. But someone needs to slay dragons.