Knopf publishing house has announced the publication of Alexei Navalny’s memoir, Patriot. The book will be released on 22 October and published in Italy by Mondadori.

Navalny started writing Patriot in 2020, shortly after he was poisoned. The book tells the whole story of his life: his youth, the time he felt the need to devote himself to activism, his marriage and family, his commitment to democracy, and freedom in Russia, which saw him stand up to a world superpower determined to silence him. Navalny was convinced that change could not be resisted, that change will come eventually, and these pages clearly express his message.

With a wealth of gripping details, including unpublished letters from prison, Navalny recounts his political career, the various attempts on his life and the lives of those closest to him, as well as the relentless campaign he and his team waged against an increasingly dictatorial regime.

Navalny’s widow, Julija Navalnaya, comments, «This book is a testimony not only to Alexei’s life, but also to his unwavering commitment to the fight against dictatorship, a fight for which he sacrificed everything, including his life. In these pages, readers will come to know the man I loved deeply, a man of absolute integrity and courage. Telling his life story is a way of honouring his memory and inspiring others to fight for what is right and to never lose sight of the values that really matter».

Written with the passion, acumen, candour and courage for which Navalny was rightly acclaimed, Patriot is his last letter to the world, a touching account of the last years he spent in the world’s most brutal prison, a reminder of why the principles of individual freedom are inalienable, a pressing exhortation to continue the work for which he gave his life.

The book is being published worldwide and will be released in hardback, e-book and audio book editions. The global release date is 22 October 2024. In the US, the first print run is 500,000 copies.