Quotes in stanza 3 and 9 are paraphrased from the following post to his supporters someone sent on his behalf following his latest sentence:
"You, not me, are being frightened and deprived of the will to resist. Putin must not achieve his goal. Do not lose the will to resist."
Stalinesque - characteristic of Joseph Stalin (1878 - 1953) - Communist terrorist dictator of the Soviet Union (1924-1953 a period of global strength to which Putin longs to return)
* Stanza 10 quote - by poet Richard Lovelace -"To Althea from Prison" He was an English Cavalier poet of the 17th century who fought on behalf of Charles 1 during the English Civil War.

Alexei Navalny's latest concurrent sentence on 4 August 2023 of 19 years for 'extremism' follows on from another sentence he is currently serving of 9 years for trumped up charges of fraud. His imprisonment will now be under even harsher conditions in order, according to his supporters, to banish him from the public sphere and undermine his health through confinement. He believes that the authorities will also impose another sentence of 10 years on terrorist charges. He remains utterly defiant in his mission to motivate an overthrow of President Putin. "The number doesn't matter. I understand very well that, like many political prisoners, I am serving a life sentence. Where life is measured by the duration of my life or the life span of this regime."

Born in 1976, Navalny rose to prominence as a blogger, is a lawyer, Russian opposition leader, political activist. He has organised anti-government demonstrations and run for office to advocate reforms against corruption, Putin and his government.

In 2021 he nearly died after being poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent. He was flown from Siberia to Germany where he received a life-saving antidote and treatment. The Russian government has denied involvement. Despite warnings not to return to Russia, Navalny announced that he would not be an opposition figure in exile. He was arrested the moment his plane touched down in Moscow in 2021 and has been in prison ever since, continuing, through messages of inspiration delivered to supporters, his fight against corruption, the Ukraine War and the Putin regime.

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