Hi, this is Navalny. Today begins yet another trial that will add a lot of time to my sentence. But I want to use this day not to ask for sympathy for myself and other political prisoners. I want to call on everyone to act and use this day to announce our new, very important project. A big campaigning machine. A machine of truth. We do not just want to build it — we absolutely will, in order to unite our efforts in the fight against Putin’s lies and the Kremlin’s hypocrisy. We really need you. Join us. Why is today a good day for this announcement? Because this very trial proves how right and necessary such a project is. What is the main thing about this trial? Not the lawlessness, not rule by phone call, not the obedience of shameless judges and prosecutors. The main thing is its form: this is a trial being held inside a prison. Putin is not ashamed to jail innocent people, and he is not afraid that a rebellious crowd might free me during a hearing in Moscow. But he is afraid of what I might say. Even if those are obvious words, words everyone already knows. He is afraid of words. And of course not only mine — that is why Kara-Murza and many others were also tried behind closed doors. Putin is afraid of any word of truth, hates remarks that turn into internet memes, and flies into a rage over “final statements” that reach audiences of millions. In essence, the task of strengthening and prolonging Putin’s rule is carried out by silencing those who dare to speak the truth. Almost everything that has been done in Russian politics in recent years has been subordinated to that goal. And since the start of the war, the authorities have thought about almost nothing else. Prison terms for posts, for “discrediting” the army, for “fake news,” arrests, blocks, “foreign agent” labels, and “undesirable organization” designations. You might think: why not just let people talk? When the authorities fight protests they see as dangerous, there is at least some logic to it — but what is so threatening about chatter on the internet or even over the phone? It may even seem like the opposite is true: discontent just dissipates into nothing. The couch troops click “like” instead of building barricades. But in reality, politics does not work that way. Read all the details in the post (link in the profile bio and in Stories).