Navalny says Woodward, Bernstein included personal note inside copy of ‘All the President’s Men’

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Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says U.S. journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein included a personal note in a copy of their classic book “All the President’s Men” that they sent to him.

Navalny tweeted Monday he decided he wanted to learn more about the Watergate scandal, so he had the two books Woodward and Bernstein wrote about their experience covering the scandal, “All the President’s Men” and “The Last Days,” sent to him in prison.

He said he asked a colleague to say hello to the pair after he learned she would be speaking at the same conference in London. He said the colleague — Maria Pevchikh, the chairwoman of the board of an organization that exposes corruption in Russia called the Anti-Corruption Foundation — told Woodward and Bernstein that Navalny had recently read their books, and they decided to write him a note.

“Pevchikh says they wrote this note together and fought three times while they were writing. And that makes it even nicer — I know that’s how they always write! Thanks, Carl and Bob!” Navalny said.

A screenshot of the note Navalny posted shows that Woodward and Bernstein said his message has “dramatically lifted our hearts.” They said Navalny is an inspiration to them and that he was able to read their books is a reminder of how much more difficult his path has been than theirs.

“We look forward to the day when you and journalists in Russia are free and we can continue this discussion in person,” the note reads.

Navalny has been detained in Russia since January 2021. He survived an assassination attempt after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in August 2020, leading him to seek treatment in Germany.

But the Russian government determined Navalny violated the terms of his parole by traveling to another country and detained him upon his arrival back in Russia.

Navalny and human rights experts have accused Moscow of being responsible for the assassination attempt, while the Russian government has denied any involvement.

He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating his parole and sentenced to an additional nine years in prison after being convicted on fraud charges.

Navalny, the U.S. government and other members of the international community have denounced the charges as politically motivated over Navalny’s vocal opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the actions of the government.

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