Navalny's murder highlights the bad faith of Republicans in Congress | Ashe

The death of Alexei Navalny on Feb. 16 in an Arctic Russian prison was murder.

Clearly, Russian President Vladimir Putin directed it. We may never know exactly how it was carried out.

Navalny had become a consistent, annoying and effective critic of Putin and his corruption. He returned to Russia to highlight the oppression, knowing he would be placed in prison.

His death should be long remembered.

Surely, the murder of this good person should convince Republicans in Congress who oppose aid to Ukraine that their opposition is a gift to Putin. The autocratic leader wants Ukraine under total Russian control. He sees democracy in Ukraine as a threat to his leadership because it shows everyday Russians that freedom literally exists next door.

Our own congressman, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, has consistently opposed helping Ukraine but cannot offer any serious explanation for his opposition. He has not even met with members of the Ukrainian community who live in this congressional district, such as Olena Korotych, a lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He has staff handle any meetings. This is unfortunate and unlike the Burchett we knew as county mayor, who met with many people.

It is hard to understand why Congress would not want to support Ukraine in a significant way to let Putin and the entire world know there must be consequences to this bad behavior.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, through her staff, called Putin “evil” but voted “no” along with Sen. Bill Hagerty on aid to Ukraine three weeks ago. Both votes encourage Putin to believe he has supporters in Congress.

Both senators and Burchett have followed Donald Trump’s lead in opposing the bipartisan legislation to curb illegal immigration, so the problem continues when a solution crafted by Republicans and Democrats together sits idle.

While Hagerty and Blackburn are likely to vote to convict impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the current Senate majority will keep him. But a week or two will have been wasted on this matter when action on real issues has been sidelined.

Meanwhile, the UT College of Music in its publication Noteworthy features an article on Marki Lukyniuk, 23, who is a student from Ukraine now here in Knoxville at the college. His picture is on the cover of Noteworthy and the article is titled “Ukrainian Rhapsody.” It tells his story about when Russia invaded Ukraine and bombed the capital city of Kyiv – where Lukyniuk was at the Kyiv Conservatory – and how he and his older brother, Kostia, were able to secure a visa to come to the United States.

Lukyniuk is a talented violinist who performs often to raise money for Ukraine. His family is from western Ukraine and his father is a Ukrainian Orthodox priest. He studies with professor of violin Miroslav Hristov at the College of Music. One of his favorite restaurants in Knoxville is Potchke on Gay Street.

A couple of weeks before he died, Robert J. (Bob) Booker was awarded a Doctor of Humanities degree from the University of Tennessee. The move by the UT board was unanimous.

Booker, a civil rights legend in Knoxville – as well as author, historian, former state representative, City Council member and mayoral aide to Kyle Testerman – died Feb. 22 at age 88. He was also a columnist on history for Knox News.

I was fortunate to have served with Booker in the state House of Representatives for two years, 1968-1970, where I was continually impressed by his independence and ability to digest issues. He was the first African American to represent Knox County and is ably followed today by Sam McKenzie.

Birthdays

March 7: Katherine Cameron is 49. Artist Marcia Goldenstein is 76. Julia Huster is 76. Jimmy B. Johnson is 53. Joe Kirk is 84. Former County Commissioner Frank Leuthold is 87. David Manderscheid is 69. Charles D. Smith is 79.

March 8: Former state Attorney General Herb Slatery III Is 72. Local conservative political consultant Erik Wiatr is 43.

March 9: Van Elkins is 77. Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III is 70. Former county commissioner Diane Jordan is 77. Greg Mills is 46. Stacey Rivers is 59. Retired state appellate Judge Joe Tipton is 77.

March 10: Kreis Beall is 71. Taylor Fry is 34. Bethany Hallam is 53. Federal public defender Marshall Jensen is 41. Doug Leahy is 76. Attorney Tim Priest is 75. Prince Edward, brother of King Charles III, is 60. Popular attorney Culver Schmid is 65.

March 11: Retired TV newsman Sam Donaldson is 90. Melinda Ethier is 69. Mary Ann Piper is 85. Jackie Raley is 59.

March 12: Attorney Greg Isaacs is 62. Sen. Mitt Romney is 77. Traci Sisson is 34. Former State Rep. Rick Staples is 54. Attorney James Wagner is 65.

March 13: Retired McClung Museum director Jeff Chapman is 81. City Recorder Will Johnson is 40. Rodney Napier Jr. is 76. Elisabeth Sansom is 81.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News. 

Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Navalny's murder highlights the bad faith of Republicans in Congress