Alexei Navalny’s speech at a rally in Astrakhan
Text version
0:05
>> Thank you very much, friends. This morning I
0:07
spoke and began with this. And now I
0:10
want to begin with this. I think every
0:12
speech here should begin with
0:14
this. First of all, I want to
0:15
welcome the lawfully elected mayor
0:18
of the city of Astrakhan, Oleg Shein.
0:26
>> It’s my first time in your city. It’s such an
0:27
unusual trip. Today I saw that
0:30
police helicopters are flying over Astrakhan.
0:32
Does that happen here every day?
0:35
>> Today I saw OMON riot police officers
0:38
blocking off streets in your city.
0:40
Does that happen here every day?
0:41
>> No.
0:42
>> I saw, I saw, some officials
0:44
running in panic from building to building, from
0:47
office to office. Does that happen here every
0:49
day?
0:52
It seems to me that all this is happening because
0:55
it is precisely in Astrakhan that this rotten
0:58
regime of crooks, thieves, and occupiers
1:01
has run into an effective guerrilla
1:03
movement.
1:06
I salute the heroes of Astrakhan, those
1:09
people who are on hunger strike. The whole
1:11
country is watching you, and we are proud
1:13
of you.
1:19
Don’t think that nobody knows about you and
1:21
that you are alone. I heard very often today:
1:23
"Well, nobody knows. Nobody
1:25
knows in Moscow, nobody knows in other
1:27
cities. It’s nonsense." Everyone knows everything. In
1:31
Moscow, at least 10 people have already
1:33
now, led by Sergei Udaltsov,
1:35
begun a solidarity hunger strike.
1:37
Hunger strikes are also taking place in Voronezh. And
1:41
the hunger strikers from the city of Lermontov, those
1:43
guys who went on hunger strike and won,
1:45
some of them are coming here to
1:47
join this hunger strike.
1:52
That is exactly why the authorities are so cowardly
1:54
afraid and are flying around you in those very
1:57
police helicopters.
1:59
But all they can do is
2:01
hire these crooks from Nashi (a pro-Kremlin youth movement),
2:03
who run around here with iPads,
2:05
which cost more than the average
2:08
salary in Astrakhan, in the Astrakhan
2:10
region, and film you here.
2:12
>> We need to drive out this riffraff and scum. How much longer
2:15
are we supposed to put up with these local Nashi activists,
2:18
these Moscow Nashi activists? If you add up
2:20
the money they spent
2:24
to bring these vagrants and
2:26
crooks here, it would be enough
2:28
to repair all the roads in the central
2:30
part of the city. But they won’t spend money
2:32
on that. They will spend money
2:35
on hiring people who
2:37
protect their crooks and thieves. Some crooks
2:41
and thieves are guarding other crooks and thieves.
2:44
But we will win, because we know that
2:46
we are right. And there is no need to despair, and no
2:49
need to think that nobody needs you.
2:51
The authorities are just waiting for us
2:55
to get tired, for us to disperse, for Muscovites
2:57
to leave, for reporters to leave,
3:00
for the people of Astrakhan to get sick of all this, for
3:03
everyone to forget about the hunger strikers, and then
3:05
let them die for all anyone cares. Nobody needs them
3:06
if there isn’t a camera filming them.
3:09
No, that will not happen. We will not
3:12
forget this.
3:14
And we will all continue to support
3:16
the protesters, those demanding change, and anyone
3:19
who is fighting for their rights.
3:22
There is that well-known, and perhaps somewhat
3:24
overused phrase: for our freedom and yours.
3:26
Those who are on hunger strike, and those who
3:29
support the hunger strikers, are exactly the people
3:32
who stand for our freedom and yours, for
3:34
the freedom of everyone in Russia, for the freedom
3:36
of every citizen of Russia.
3:43
You’ve already seen that rumors started spreading today
3:45
that we supposedly trashed
3:46
Putin’s public reception office,
3:49
>> that supposedly some
3:51
fascists have gathered here who want to sow
3:54
interethnic conflict. Well, I saw
3:56
the hunger strikers today.
3:59
There are Russians there, Tatars, Kazakhs,
4:03
Kalmyks, and Chechens too. And that composition
4:06
shows that it is the people who are on hunger strike,
4:08
not some organized support group.
4:13
Nobody needs a government like this, one that
4:16
has driven people to the point where they go hungry for
4:18
their political rights.
4:23
We will win.
4:25
Standing here in Astrakhan, I will not
4:27
shout, "We are the power here." I want
4:29
to say, "We are the power here." But I want
4:32
you to repeat: "We are the power here."
4:35
We are the power here. We are the power here. We
4:40
are the power here. We are the power here.
4:43
>> We are the power here.
4:45
>> The power here belongs to Shein’s supporters,
4:47
The power here belongs to the people who
4:50
voted for him in a fair election.
4:53
>> If they think they can win,
4:56
then fine: new elections, fair
4:58
competition. Let them win in that fair
5:00
contest—but crooks and thieves do not want
5:02
a fair fight.
5:05
We will force them to hold new elections.
5:09
We must do everything possible to bring
5:13
many more people here. Because
5:15
we must not disperse, and we have nowhere else to go.
5:17
Even I have nowhere to go. I’m not leaving
5:20
my home for anywhere beyond Moscow. Some
5:22
crook and thief like Bazhenov can fly off to
5:25
Italy on a private jet, but we
5:27
have nowhere to run.
5:29
>> We will not go farther than our own homes. That means
5:33
we will stay here and defend our
5:35
rights.
5:38
We will not go back to our homes and we will not
5:40
disperse. If we disperse only
5:43
so that we can return here with renewed strength,
5:45
I urge you not to give up,
5:48
and we will do everything we can to help
5:50
you win this struggle. And you
5:51
will definitely win. One for all.
5:55
>> One for all is ready.
5:57
>> One for all.
6:09
hel