--- product_id: 632361318 title: "PATRIOT: The Life Story and Secret Prison Diaries of Putin’s Most Feared Opponent" price: "41900CFA" currency: XOF in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/632361318-patriot-the-life-story-and-secret-prison-diaries-of-putin store_origin: SN region: Senegal --- # PATRIOT: The Life Story and Secret Prison Diaries of Putin’s Most Feared Opponent **Price:** 41900CFA **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** PATRIOT: The Life Story and Secret Prison Diaries of Putin’s Most Feared Opponent - **How much does it cost?** 41900CFA with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/632361318-patriot-the-life-story-and-secret-prison-diaries-of-putin) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description ** WINNER OF THE OVERALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AND BEST NARRATIVE NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2024 ** 'Mind-blowing ... one extraordinary read' EMILY MAITLIS 'The greatest political figure of his generation' OBSERVER 'Part memoir, part diary, a political manifesto, a darkly funny adieu' BEN MACINTYRE ' Patriot will be seen as a historic text' ECONOMIST Patriot is the exhilarating life story of one of the most fearless and inspiring figures of our time, who became a beacon to millions and the sole political threat to Vladimir Putin. This is Alexei Navalny’s life in his own words: his Soviet childhood, political awakening, his marriage and beloved family, his total commitment to taking on a corrupt regime and his enduring love of Russia and its people. His 2020 poisoning by the Russian security services was a global news event. In 2024 he died in a brutal Siberian prison. He began writing Patriot whilst recovering from his poisoning; it ends with his prison diaries, seen here for the first time. We witness the growth of his nationwide support. We see his many arrests and harassment and, in stunning detail, the attempt on his life. We understand why he felt he had to return to Russia. In prison, he shows a spirit and a sense of humour that cannot be crushed. Patriot is as dramatic as its author’s life – passionate that good and freedom will prevail. It is Alexei Navalny’s final letter to the world, a rousing call to continue his work, an unforgettably positive account of a life that will inspire every reader . 'A brave and brilliant book' GUARDIAN 'A worthy testament to Navalny's courage, defiance and humour' FINANCIAL TIMES 'This book is a gospel' VANITY FAIR 'Inspiring, emboldening - a voice that will not be forgotten' NEW YORKER ** WINNER OF THE WESTMINSTER BOOK AWARD FOR BEST BOOK BY A NON-PARLIAMENTARIAN ** ** A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A WATERSTONES, NEW STATESMAN , FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST AND EVENING STANDARD BEST BOOK OF 2024 * ONE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2024 ** (Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, October 2024) Review: An inspirational book - The death of Alexei Navalny was such a painfully sad and tragic waste of a person whose humanity, fundamental decency, sense of humour, irrepressible empathy, effortless intelligence and unbreakable fearlessness in standing up against unspeakable evil shine brightly throughout his book. It is remarkable how, even when the vindictive repression of the Putin regime escalated towards its inevitable conclusion, Alexei continued to record his experience in such a measured, dispassionate and sanguine narrative. People like Alexei are rare and we are fortunate to have had such a towering champion in the struggle in the name of democracy and basic human rights. I am so glad to have read this book. In a post-truth world seemingly dominated by amoral, unscrupulous, cowardly politicians, it is refreshing to learn so much about a politician of raw courage, true convictions and sincerity. And to end on a trivial note - I have been so lucky to have read this book at all - it certainly did not arrive with me as trumpeted by the email and photo from desertcart - I have no idea where it went but, later that week and after trying in vain to tell desertcart I hadn't received it, the package turned up at the edge of the road where I live!! Fortunately it hadn't rained in the meantime. So, a minor distraction from what has otherwise been a wonderful reading experience. Review: There are still heroes - How I love this man. This posthumous memoir by Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, published after he was murdered on Putin’s orders in February, is sad, inspiring, hilarious and idiosyncratic, like the man himself. It starts with an electrifying recollection of what it was like to be poisoned (unsuccessfully) with novichok on an internal flight in Russia, then switches to an autobiography starting in his childhood, then some recollections of his campaigning days, and finally memoirs which he was quite remarkably allowed to write in prison and which even more remarkably his lawyer or wife was allowed to take away after his death. The title he chose, ‘Patriot’, is striking. But perhaps not, in the light of the great tradition of Russian oppositionists who chose to remain in Russia even if it meant prison and death, one thinks of Akhmatova’s poem ‘Not under foreign skies’ or those who returned to the Soviet Union after the civil war, unable to bear being outside Russia. For a Russian, to be outside Russia is to be outside life, it seems. Navalny’s fierce integrity, enormous courage, his refusal to flinch or compromise, we knew about these already. What is new here is his insight, a rare thing, a public figure who sees himself clearly, his doubts and mis-steps, and who is not fond of his portrait as hero. And his wonderful sense of humour, often self mocking, sometimes mischievous and anarchic - as when live on his Oscar-winning documentary he rings the FSB man in charge of of murdering him, posing as FSB investigator berating him for his incompetence, before revealing who he really is. Or the immense lengths he went to sort out of the genealogical context of the War of the Roses, there in his isolation cell in his freezing Arctic prison, not long before his death. Above all, his mockery of Putin and clear sighted contempt for the murderers, thieves and liars who surround him. Mockery he says is to them like sunlight to vampires. He focuses in on truth as the bedrock of everything else, just as lies are the foundation a tyranny. I did not know that in his last months he became a kind of Christian. But it is no surprise that in doing so he focussed not on rituals and masses but on the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness sake. Indeed. He talks interestingly about fear, how Putin and his like count on it, how the one thing they fear is those who are not cowed. He describes how fear comes and goes, how you might keep out of trouble because you're afraid, but then it becomes too great and you’re terrified, and then you suddenly overcome it. How courage is not the absence of fear, but simply taking a decision that it will not define you: interesting. His treatment in prison became progressively harsher as it was clearer to Putin that he could not be broken. His conditions and treatment became a form of torture, psychological as well as physical, in the end it was clearly designed to kill him, and it did. Or was it a bullet in the neck or Putin’s favourite Novichok again? Poison, the coward’s favourite. What we know for certain is that he was unflinching in his commitment to his course of action right to the end, in that lonely cell in that lonely prison, cut off from everybody, even his lawyer. I mourn this man three times over. I mourn his loss to his lovely wife and two children, of whom there are such beautiful photographs here, and not the least of his commitment was the knowledge what it would do to them, though his wife Julia fiercely supported and does support all that he did. The children lost their father in their teens, difficult enough time. To have lost such a man as your father... I hope they’re doing ok. I mourned him on behalf of Russia, which so much needed a man like this, a great patriot and believer in Russia’s rich future, beyond all lies and killing and corruption. (But then Russia has always murdered its best). And lastly I mourn him for myself, because I always felt comforted by knowing he was alive somewhere, he represented hope in a darkening world. But then if he had that effect on me, and on you, he achieved what he wanted, did he not? ## Features - New Store Stock ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 56,887 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 97 in Political Biographies 857 in Historical Biographies (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,585 Reviews | ## Images ![PATRIOT: The Life Story and Secret Prison Diaries of Putin’s Most Feared Opponent - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71VFxvKixtL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Media Language, Media Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An inspirational book *by T***M on 14 November 2025* The death of Alexei Navalny was such a painfully sad and tragic waste of a person whose humanity, fundamental decency, sense of humour, irrepressible empathy, effortless intelligence and unbreakable fearlessness in standing up against unspeakable evil shine brightly throughout his book. It is remarkable how, even when the vindictive repression of the Putin regime escalated towards its inevitable conclusion, Alexei continued to record his experience in such a measured, dispassionate and sanguine narrative. People like Alexei are rare and we are fortunate to have had such a towering champion in the struggle in the name of democracy and basic human rights. I am so glad to have read this book. In a post-truth world seemingly dominated by amoral, unscrupulous, cowardly politicians, it is refreshing to learn so much about a politician of raw courage, true convictions and sincerity. And to end on a trivial note - I have been so lucky to have read this book at all - it certainly did not arrive with me as trumpeted by the email and photo from Amazon - I have no idea where it went but, later that week and after trying in vain to tell Amazon I hadn't received it, the package turned up at the edge of the road where I live!! Fortunately it hadn't rained in the meantime. So, a minor distraction from what has otherwise been a wonderful reading experience. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ There are still heroes *by J***Y on 8 November 2024* How I love this man. This posthumous memoir by Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, published after he was murdered on Putin’s orders in February, is sad, inspiring, hilarious and idiosyncratic, like the man himself. It starts with an electrifying recollection of what it was like to be poisoned (unsuccessfully) with novichok on an internal flight in Russia, then switches to an autobiography starting in his childhood, then some recollections of his campaigning days, and finally memoirs which he was quite remarkably allowed to write in prison and which even more remarkably his lawyer or wife was allowed to take away after his death. The title he chose, ‘Patriot’, is striking. But perhaps not, in the light of the great tradition of Russian oppositionists who chose to remain in Russia even if it meant prison and death, one thinks of Akhmatova’s poem ‘Not under foreign skies’ or those who returned to the Soviet Union after the civil war, unable to bear being outside Russia. For a Russian, to be outside Russia is to be outside life, it seems. Navalny’s fierce integrity, enormous courage, his refusal to flinch or compromise, we knew about these already. What is new here is his insight, a rare thing, a public figure who sees himself clearly, his doubts and mis-steps, and who is not fond of his portrait as hero. And his wonderful sense of humour, often self mocking, sometimes mischievous and anarchic - as when live on his Oscar-winning documentary he rings the FSB man in charge of of murdering him, posing as FSB investigator berating him for his incompetence, before revealing who he really is. Or the immense lengths he went to sort out of the genealogical context of the War of the Roses, there in his isolation cell in his freezing Arctic prison, not long before his death. Above all, his mockery of Putin and clear sighted contempt for the murderers, thieves and liars who surround him. Mockery he says is to them like sunlight to vampires. He focuses in on truth as the bedrock of everything else, just as lies are the foundation a tyranny. I did not know that in his last months he became a kind of Christian. But it is no surprise that in doing so he focussed not on rituals and masses but on the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness sake. Indeed. He talks interestingly about fear, how Putin and his like count on it, how the one thing they fear is those who are not cowed. He describes how fear comes and goes, how you might keep out of trouble because you're afraid, but then it becomes too great and you’re terrified, and then you suddenly overcome it. How courage is not the absence of fear, but simply taking a decision that it will not define you: interesting. His treatment in prison became progressively harsher as it was clearer to Putin that he could not be broken. His conditions and treatment became a form of torture, psychological as well as physical, in the end it was clearly designed to kill him, and it did. Or was it a bullet in the neck or Putin’s favourite Novichok again? Poison, the coward’s favourite. What we know for certain is that he was unflinching in his commitment to his course of action right to the end, in that lonely cell in that lonely prison, cut off from everybody, even his lawyer. I mourn this man three times over. I mourn his loss to his lovely wife and two children, of whom there are such beautiful photographs here, and not the least of his commitment was the knowledge what it would do to them, though his wife Julia fiercely supported and does support all that he did. The children lost their father in their teens, difficult enough time. To have lost such a man as your father... I hope they’re doing ok. I mourned him on behalf of Russia, which so much needed a man like this, a great patriot and believer in Russia’s rich future, beyond all lies and killing and corruption. (But then Russia has always murdered its best). And lastly I mourn him for myself, because I always felt comforted by knowing he was alive somewhere, he represented hope in a darkening world. But then if he had that effect on me, and on you, he achieved what he wanted, did he not? ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Astonishingly courageous man *by M***E on 30 December 2024* Patriot, by Alexei Navalny is a a truly inspiring book. In case you have forgotten, he was the amazing man who set up an Anti Corruption Party in opposition to Putin who had him killed in response. He carried out investigations into corruption, in particular he made a film about Putin's palace. He clearly felt a burning anger at the level of corruption throughout the Russian State and the fact that people in a state position with any level of authority used their position to become wealthy while the rest of the population lived in poverty and with shortages. Putin and his circle have accumulated unbelievable wealth which certainly does not come from their salaries. Putin must have feared him and his thousands of followers because there had been several failed attempts to kill him before he was poisoned with Novichok and almost died. Angela Merkel intervened and he was transferred to a hospital in Germany, where after many months of treatment and physiotherapy he was more or less recovered. He had to learn to speak, write and walk again and required intensive physiotherapy. He was left with long term back problems. When he was well enough he returned to Russia with his wife and two children. I think he is the most courageous person I have ever come across. He knew that Putin would not be satisfied until he was dead but he returned anyway. In fact, he was arrested straight off the plane and imprisoned on trumped up charges. He was finally killed three years later. Putin regularly thought up new false charges when there were farcical show trials and more time was added to his sentence. The book is both interesting and moving. Navalny’s love of his country and its people together with his anger at the way time and again those in power have reduced them as individuals and the country as a whole to poverty and backwardness. When I told my son about it he responded by sending me links to 3 articles critical of Navalny. After reading the man’s book, however, I am convinced that his death is a tragic loss to Russia. He started writing it while he was convalescing in Germany and the first part of the book contains a lot about his childhood and early life. One of his parents was Ukrainian and he spent his summers on his grandparents' farm. The rest of it is in the form of a prison diary. I don’t know how he got his writings out of prison. He must have had help. What impresses me particularly is that throughout the book there is not the slightest hint of self-pity neither about his situation and the knowledge that he would never be freed nor about his painful back; he writes with a wry humour which I found wonderful, given the circumstances. A truly great man in my opinion. I only hope the people he inspired to oppose Putin don’t just give up without his leadership. ## Frequently Bought Together - PATRIOT: The Life Story and Secret Prison Diaries of Putin’s Most Feared Opponent - Politics On the Edge: The must-read #1 Sunday Times bestseller from the host of hit podcast The Rest Is Politics - Freedom: Memoirs 1954 - 2021 --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/632361318-patriot-the-life-story-and-secret-prison-diaries-of-putin](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/632361318-patriot-the-life-story-and-secret-prison-diaries-of-putin) --- *Product available on Desertcart Senegal* *Store origin: SN* *Last updated: 2026-10-09*