One evening in early January I was walking my dog, taking a shortcut through the maze of paths and courtyards in my Moscow neighborhood, when I saw an older man sitting on a bench by the front door of a large apartment house. It was only moderately cold, but he was wearing a heavy jacket, boots and a hat with ear flaps floating out to the sides like fur elephant ears. He had a medical mask under his chin but pulled it up over his nose when he saw us. My dog walked up to him, wriggling and wagging her tail. He leaned down and began to pet her.
Alexei Navalny
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Michele Berdy: Putin’s spring of discontent is over. Will it matter?
A Russian police officer speaks with an opposition supporter holding a poster reading "No war, repressions and tortures!" during a rally in support of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in Vladivostok on April 21, 2021.
