FILE PHOTO: People lay flowers at the grave of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny following his funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
New York, United States — Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny‘s posthumous memoir will be released in October, chronicling his 2020 poisoning and life in a brutal Russian prison camp, the US publisher of the book said Thursday.
The key opponent of Russian leader Vladimir Putin died in February in a penal colony, where he had been held in harsh conditions.
Titled “Patriot,” the book will be released on October 22, publisher Knopf said in a statement.
READ: Who was Alexei Navalny and what did he say of Russia, Putin, and death?
“It is the full story of his life: his youth, his call to activism, his marriage and family, and his commitment to the cause of Russian democracy and freedom in the face of a world super-power determined to silence him,” it said.
“It expresses Navalny’s total conviction that change cannot be resisted and will come.”
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who has taken over his mantle in exile, has accused Putin of killing her husband.
He began writing the memoir after the 2020 poisoning, which led to his hospitalization. He returned to Russia the next year, and was jailed.
Navalny’s death has robbed Russians opposed to Putin of their most charismatic figurehead at a time when authorities have crushed the last remnants of dissent.
The crackdown has intensified since the Kremlin launched its full-scale hostilities against Ukraine in 2022.
Former KGB officer Putin secured a new six-year term in power in the face of no genuine challenger at elections in March.