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Following an assassination attempt on his life in 2020, former Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny recuperated in Germany and made a decision that stunned many — he would return to Russia, despite the near-certainty of detainment and the likelihood of death under the regime of Vladimir Putin.

Navalny died in a remote penal colony north of the Arctic Circle in February. But he had been working on drafts for a memoir prior to his death. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, helped piece together his writings into what became the completed project, titled Patriot. The book, out now, is set to be published in 22 languages; the English-language edition hit number one on Amazon’s bestselling book charts just hours after its release.

According to the publisher Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House, Navalny began writing his memoir shortly after his assassination attempt in 2020, in which he was poisoned in an attack widely believed to be perpetrated by Putin (which the Kremlin vehemently denied). The book recounts Navalny’s political rise and includes journal entries written while he was detained following his return to Russia, and arrives amid an intense period in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The publisher notes call it Navalny’s “final letter to the world: a moving account of his last years spent in the most brutal prison on earth; a reminder of why the principles of individual freedom matter so deeply; and a rousing call to continue the work for which he sacrificed his life.”

Navalny’s widow, Navalnaya, vowed to continue her late husband’s cause and now chairs the Human Rights Foundation. In the publisher’s notes, Navalnaya stated in part that “This book is a testament not only to Alexei’s life, but to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship—a fight he gave everything for, including his life. Through its pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply—a man of profound integrity and unyielding courage.”

In addition to his posthumous memoir, Navalny’s life was chronicled in an eponymous documentary directed by Daniel Roher. Navalny was released in 2022 and won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. Produced by CNN, the documentary is available to stream on Max.