Ladies and Gentlemen,
dear Mr Lindner,

this is my great honour to be with you here tonight and to accept the M100 Media Award on behalf of Alexei Navalny and the Anti-Corruption Foundation.

These days there are quite a few similar ceremonies being held to mark Alexey Navalny’s courage and achievements: I just came from Warsaw, where yesterday they awarded Alexey Navalny with a Knight of Freedom distinction. (The prize was a sword and I only travel with cabin luggage…).

And this is, of course, by all means well deserved by Alexey. Since August 2020 his story became well known to the world, as it has demostrated, how real life (even during the CoVID times) could be more thrilling than any Netflix showrunners could imagine. The story about him being poisoned and able to survive, the story about him investigating the murder attempt himself and being able to identify the assasins, the story of his return to Russia after having produced the masterpiece investigation about Putin’s enormous wealth — well, is definitely deserves to be appreciated.

But this very award is still really outstanding, and of very special meaning for us, and I’d like to try to explain, why. There are two reasons.

First, the M100 Media Award, unlike others, is presented both to Alexey Navalny and to the Anti-Corruption Foundation he founded back in 2011. So, it puts a very important accent on the fact that Alexey Navalny was and is not alone. He is not a dissident, not a lonely voice in an ocean of silence. Quite contrary — he is a man who managed to build a large political organisation, in a very innovative and inventive manner navigating Russia’s bumpy media and political landscape. He used the internet, the social media, to reach out to people all across our huge country, to break the silence, to counter both the most blatant and outright lies and the soft power of the propaganda. And, of course, he’s a very courageous man. But courage alone would not be enough to bring us where we now are. It was hard work first of all things.

The organisation he’s built has proven to be a very capable one — an organisation that persists even while he is in prison. In fact, this year we produced more investigations, reached more viewers and readers than in any of the previous years. Despite all those challenging circumstances, being pushed out of the country, being labeled «extremists» as Al-Quaida, being accused of all possible sins (there are seven ongoing criminal cases being investigated now in Russia against myself only, so in fact there could be quite a reward, just in case someone might be interested!) — so, despite all of the above, we continue all our operations. And with a lot of success — due to the new media, that made it possible.

And I’m proud to accept the M100 Media Award not only on Alexey’s behalf, but on behalf of the whole team — several hundred young (well, mostly young) people, not only in Moscow but all over Russia’s eleven time zones, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, who were campaigning for Alexey and with Alexey, running in local elections, supporting local activism, investigating their local thiefs and crooks, inspired by Alexei Navalny. And they continue. We continue. We are not defeated; in fact, we are as sure we’ll overcome as we never were before.

And then there is a second important thing, which comes along with this award only. This is a Press Prize, awarded for journalism. Alexei Navalny is a politician, who was running for Mayor of Moscow and for President of Russia; he’s a freedom fighter, who was poisoned and jailed; a party leader, who has built a strong political force, which just won over a hundred seats in regional elections. But, indeed, his main lifetime achievement, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, is first of all things a body of investigative journalism.

It is through journalism, through written and oral word, through telling stories, how Alexey Navalny became who he is, Putin’s main rival and Enemy of the State number one. And in this capability he actually shares the fate of so many journalists all over the world being prosecuted for telling the truth.

The Russian state has also awarded us with many distinctions. Foreign agents. Extremists. Criminals. And after the Anti-Corruption Foundation was declared to be an extremist organisation, we had to formally dissolve it. So, technically, that part of the award that goes to the Anti-Corruption Foundation is a posthumous one. But what is written on that gravestone? Anti-Corruption Foundation, 2011-2021. What is the Foundation’s most important legacy?

I would say, this was the organisation that has changed Russia through education, and this is yet another so important, albeit often forgotten, aspect of journalism. When we launched the Foundation back in 2011, only around 15% of Russian voters considered corruption to be a major political issue. Now, ten years later, this figure stands above 60%, a truly tectonic change for the whole Russian society. It required patience, it required time and persistance. People often asked: «why yet another investigation? Another palace, luxury yacht or private jet of another modest deputy minister? Wasn’t that already enough? We already know they’re all corrupt!». But we carried on (and we will continue, of course). And this changed the society.

And there is one more very important thing our investigations revealed. Over the course of these 10 years, we have proven beyond reasonable doubt: corruption is a human rights issue, probably the most vital of all of them. When the leadership of the country is totally corrupt, there is no choice for them but to rig the elections — as they just can’t afford to get outvoted. There is no choice for them but to destroy independent courts — as they just can’t afford to be challenged in court. There is no choice for them, but to beat down the protests — as they otherwise would lose their ability to steal more money. And there is no choice for them but to erase freedom of press and freedom of speech — as they just can’t afford their corruption to be investigated. All of this has happened in Russia, and is happening in so many countries all around the world. The fight for the human rights should begin as the fight against corruption — this has been proven by Alexey Navalny.

And that’s why it is so important for us that our anti-corruption work is recognised in Europe. It is important for a very practical reason. As the fight against corruption is a global fight, and we can’t win this fight all alone. As long as those people, Putin’s friends, will be able use stolen money to buy villas on Cote d’Azur, to build their yachts by Luerssen in Bremen, to send their children to the best private schools in the UK — they will not stop. Their money, covered with blood and Novichok, is here, all around us. It is buying not only luxury properties, but also Western politicians, it is buying influence and, also, media.

We don’t ask Europe to help us. But we do ask Europe to help itself. Dirty money from Russia and countries alike, spoil and rot the very foundations of the political system of the free society. It is just getting to dangerous. Europe has to help itself — but doing so, it will also help us a lot. Making corruption in Russia less enjoyable — and becoming for of a role model for those within Russia who fight for change and for a better future for our country.

Leonid Volkov is a Russian politician, chief-of-staff and political director of Alexei Navalny’s team. He accepted the M100 Media Award for the imprisoned Alexei Navalny and his anti-corruption foundation FBK in Potsdam on 6 October 2021.
He was campaign manager for Navalny’s 2013 mayoral campaign in Moscow, as well as for his attempt to register for the 2018 presidential election. He later set up and managed the political activities of Navalny’s offices in more than 40 major Russian cities. Since 2018, he has been responsible for Smart Voting – a tactical election campaign that defeated hundreds of members of Putin’s United Russia party in regional elections. Since 2019, Leonid Volkov has been based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and also represents Team Navalny at the international level.
Volkov is an IT project manager by profession and holds a PhD in computer science from Ural State University in his hometown of Yekaterinburg. He was a member of the Ekaterinburg City Council from 2009 to 2013 and was elected its only independent member. In 2015, Volkov founded the Internet Protection Society, a non-governmental organisation that promotes internet freedom and digital rights in Russia.