Do you know what turned out to be the most important thing at the first stage of a prison hunger strike? Checking your pockets. They slip candy into them. The first one was found during a search, followed immediately by ironic smiles: And what’s this, Alexei Anatolyevich, a little candy? From that moment on, before putting on any item of clothing that has been left unattended, I search it and throw out the candy 🤷♂️ Of course, I knew the authorities’ first priority would be to discredit the hunger strike and make fun of it. The only surprising thing is how primitive their approach is. It was absolutely the right decision, from day one of the hunger strike, never to go into the kitchen without an officer there with a body camera switched on. You can only drink water in the kitchen. I go in, drink from the “drinking water tank,” they film me while I do it, and I leave. And I never go near any bags on my own. So when reports appeared on all the Kremlin-controlled media channels saying, “Navalny secretly eats cookies,” both the inmates and even the staff said: what a lie. Everyone can see that mine is a 100% hardcore prison hunger strike. No tricks like sweet tea, salted water, juice, vitamins, etc. Just water. And here’s a story for you: I was talking to my lawyer the other day. He said: they usually put another inmate in with someone on hunger strike and make sure there’s loads of chicken around him, so he fries it and eats it right in front of the protester. I laughed: no, that’s too much, and besides, it’s impossible here in principle. Cooking in the kitchen is forbidden, and there’s nothing to cook on anyway. There’s only a kettle. And chicken is under a total ban. You can neither buy it nor receive it in a care package. And what do you think? Two days later I go into the kitchen for a drink, and there’s the cheerful “orderly” frying chicken! They brought in a hot plate! Then they started frying bread and something else. And now it goes on all day long. All the rules and regulations have been canceled. A feast and liberalization! I smirked and thought this must be some kind of instruction they’d been given. But then I thought some more and realized: no, it’s simply what they truly believe in. The essence of this regime. No one will ever stand up for their principles and fight for their rights if—there it is, right nearby—a tasty piece of fried chicken. The whole gang of thieves, from Putin and his ministers down to the lackeys at the bottom of the system, sincerely do not believe that if faced with a choice between ideas and chicken, anyone would choose ideas. Food, money, luxury, cars, and palaces will tempt anyone. Anyone who claims otherwise is pretending. “Come on, Lyokha, there’s plenty more. Let’s chow down with the guys. Listen... mmm... what a smell. Forget it, you won’t achieve anything anyway.” Thanks, of course, but you know, I’m not prepared to meekly look on at the brazen face of someone living off taxpayers’ money and telling me: We are not obliged to tell you your diagnosis. The results of your MRI are for us, not for you. No, we will not pass on your medication. You can point all you like to the clauses in the law saying you have the right to invite a doctor. No one is coming here, and you won’t achieve anything. At that moment I realize: tens of thousands of people are hearing exactly the same thing right now. In prisons, and outside prison too. They are literally dying without medical care. They are unknown, no one will protect them, no one will remember them, no one will challenge this lying, inhuman system for their sake. And just like that, I win the epic battle in which my spirit stands against prison chicken. So don’t give up in your important battles either 😉