The pen of freedom is mightier than the sword of tyranny
The venerable adage that the pen is mightier than the sword postulates that verbal expression has more influence over people and events than does the use of force. Freedom of speech is a two-edged sword. What matters is whether the sword is sheathed in democracy or tyranny. Words, unless they incite criminal behavior or constitute civil fraud or defamation however bizarre, controversial or provocative they may be, are protected as a fundamental right and foundational pillar of democracy.
The Kremlin dictionary defines “natural causes” to include assassination by accident, bullet or poison. The recent death on Feb. 16, 2024, of 47-year-old Alexei Navalny is cloaked in a sinister shroud. Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence in an Arctic prison for exposing corruption in the Kremlin. His crime was that he expressed opposition to the dictatorial regime of former Soviet
KGB officer and incumbent Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. According to the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, Navalny felt ill after a walk, lost consciousness and couldn’t be revived. What most likely happened to Navalny can be intuited by comparing his fate with that of others who put their lives on the line by walking through the valley of the shadow of death to challenge Putin and paid the ultimate price of martyrdom.
Putin initially assumed the reins of power as acting president in 1999. The iron fist of his tyranny has ever since punched the heart and soul of the Russian people. He wields absolute control over Russian politics. In order to perpetuate his hegemony as Russia’s top gun, Putin gave himself a constitutional booster shot, enabling him to hold office for two more terms. Putin is a shoo-in to continue in office under the guise of a free and open election. Political opponents who could have challenged Putin on the ballot have either died, are imprisoned or in exile. Putin ‘s victims include:
Sergei Yushenkov (2003): Yushenkov was a veteran politician and leader of the anti-kremlin party Liberal Russia. He had been at the forefront of efforts by liberal lawmakers to investigate the FSB (Federal Security Service successor to the Soviet KGB) of involvement in a series of deadly apartment bombings in which killed some 300 people. He was shot dead in front of his Moscow home.
Aleksander Litvinenko (2006): Litvinenko was a former Russian security agent who fled to Britain after accusing the FSB of plotting to kill a prominent Russian oligarch. He later co-authored a book blaming the agency for apartment building bombings in 1999. Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium.
Anna Politkovskaya (2006): Politkovskaya was one of Russia’s most prominent journalists and a persistent chronicler of rights abuses in Chechnya. She was shot in her apartment building in an execution-style killing.
Sergei Magnitsky (2009): Magnitsky was a whistle-blowing lawyer who had implicated Russian officials in an alleged $230 million tax fraud scheme. While in pretrial detention he suffered from pancreatitis and was denied medical care. According to the Kremlin’s own human rights council, Magnitsky was badly beaten before his death. He died one year after being jailed on similar tax fraud charges.
Boris Nemtsov (2015): Nemtsov was a former regional governor and deputy prime minister who was a rising political star in the 1990s. He became one of Putin’s most vocal opponents. He was similarly shot in an execution-style killing.
Yevgeny Prigozhin (2023): Prigozhin was the founder of the Wagner Group, which supported pro-russian paramilitaries in Ukraine. Prigozhin was a fool, not a martyr. He launched an abortive mutiny against Putin by targeting Russia’s military leaders, placing in doubt Putin’s image as a strong and reliable protector of the people. Prigozhin didn’t die from a bullet. His demise was perpetrated by the force of gravity. His plane plummeted out of the sky.
In the United States, those who rock the boat by churning choppy waters of controversial, provocative, radical or sarcastic expression need not sink. Under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, boat rockers have the right to brandish an uncensored pen mightier than the sword. Freedom of expression is predicated upon entrusting citizens with the discernment and wisdom to sift through expressive information to make choices serving the nation’s best interest.