Corrupt systems rely on passivity and discouragement to function. They are what grease the wheels of totalitarianism and oppression. Alexei Navalny was more courageous and single-minded than most of us will ever be. Most of us don't have to make the kinds of choices he did. By putting himself in the line of fire he demonstrated that every power, no matter how all-encompassing , was vulnerable. What is victory in those circumstances? Is it just merely surviving? Or is it redefining what power is?  He knew that by coming back it would probably end like this. That's a kind of martyrdom. The kind we see throughout history that hopefully becomes an exemplar for others. Otherwise it ends up a double tragedy.