Patriot

Patriot by Alexei Navalny is a memoir about the late political opposition leader who paid the ultimate price for his beliefs. Alexei began writing this memoir shortly after being poisoned in 2020. We read about his youth, call to activism, his family and wife and children and his belief in God up to his time in prison.

Great Details & Facts Could Have Used Better Editing

There were great details. I enjoyed reading about Alexei’s life. Reading this felt as though you were reading something from a ghost. One of my favorite parts was the story of his grandmother having him baptized in the Orthodox Church in secret because during that time before Putin, you would get in trouble for having any faith. Alexei’s parents weren’t upset. I also thought it was interesting reading about how he was arrested more than once on and off and him meeting then German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the poisoning attempt when they were in Germany. This book also exposes how Putin made up bogus charges against Alexei one of being him supposedly insulting a veteran. There is so much I could talk about but I don’t want to spoil the entire book. The prison parts were interesting knowing how people in Russian prisons are treated. I love that Alexei’s faith in God and hope for a better Russia kept his spirits up since he knew he would never get out of prison alive. I do think that the biggest flaw was the book probably could have used more editing. It just seemed disorganized. I know this wasn’t Alexei’s fault, as he wanted to get everything down knowing that he wouldn’t get out.