Destruction by instalments
Alexei Navalny has been in custody in Russia for more than two years, and he would still have seven more ahead of him after the last verdict. But it looks like it could be many more years.
Today, the Kremlin critic is confronted with new investigations, another indictment accuses him, among other things, of founding and financing an "extremist" organization and of trivializing Nazism. Navalny faces another 30 years in the penal colony, where the preliminary hearing for the trial is about to take place.
"It is not enough for the Russian leadership to imprison Navalny, they now also want to label him an extremist in order to completely destroy his reputation in Russia," says my colleague Christina Hebel, our correspondent in Moscow.
I find Navalny's steadfastness impressive and at times confusing. To this day, I do not understand why the politician voluntarily returned to Russia after the poison attack on him and a long period of treatment at the Charité hospital in Berlin, knowing full well what would await him there. At the same time, the fact that he apparently considered this step necessary commands my respect.
On Sunday, Navalny celebrated his 47th birthday. The lines he posted on Twitter speak for themselves. A small excerpt.
Let's face it, of course I wish I didn't have to wake up in this hellhole and could instead have breakfast with my family, get kisses on the cheek from my kids, unwrap presents and say, "Wow, that's exactly what I dreamed of!" But the way life works is that social progress and a better future can only be achieved if a certain number of people are willing to pay the price for their right to believe. The more such people there are, the less everyone has to pay. And surely the day will come when speaking the truth and standing up for justice in Russia will be something commonplace and not at all dangerous.
Navalny's health deteriorated noticeably in April, reports my colleague Christina. He had lost several kilograms of weight in the punishment cell, severe pain in the stomach area, so that an ambulance had to be called. At that time, his comrades-in-arms did not rule out poisoning.
Imprisoned Putin opponent: International demonstrations on Navalny's birthday – in Russia, the police crack down
More news and background information on the war in Ukraine can be found here:
Nationwide air alert in Ukraine, Wagner boss mocks Russian success stories: In Kyiv, the sirens wailed again overnight. Wagner boss Prigozhin calls the reports of Russian military successes "absurd". And: Ukrainian pilots are training in Great Britain. Recent developments.
Kiev sees the enemy "on the defensive": When will Ukraine's expected counteroffensive start? Russia claims to have repelled major attacks. Kiev, on the other hand, reports that its own troops are advancing primarily around Bakhmut.
"A sign that we have the strength to organize the defense of the alliance": NATO and Russia are practicing with large naval units in the Baltic Sea. The Chancellor sees the manoeuvre of the Western units as a "sign" to Moscow – and fears no escalation.
Catastrophe in sight
One of the rather hopeless projects this Tuesday is an appointment by Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens): In Schwedt, she invites to the international Oder conference.
You remember: last summer, tons of dead fish made headlines, floating belly up in the Oder. The cause was apparently poisonous flowers of an algae.
Lemke now wants to talk to local politicians from Poland and representatives of the federal states about how life can come back into the river after the disaster.
The german-Polish border river is recovering only hesitantly from the consequences of the deadly algal bloom. The Polish government and the managers of the Polish mining industry are to blame for the catastrophe – and this is now also said by EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius. Regardless of limit values, they apparently discharged their saline wastewater into the river. That went well for quite a while. But the climate crisis and the rise in temperatures allowed an algae to thrive in the salty water, destroying 400 tons of fish within a very short time.
Poland continues to refuse to do anything about the discharges. In an interview with SPIEGEL last week, Steffi Lemke was left with nothing but a warning. And even this is not what the Poles want to hear.
Not a single Polish leader is attending the Lemke conference today, as my colleague Serafin Reiber has discovered. In addition, says Serafin, a german-Polish group of experts, which had been promised by Lemke, is on the verge of collapse due to massive resentment. And while politicians are arguing, the first dead fish have already been spotted in the Oder.
Deadly algal bloom: And fish carcasses float again
Liberté, égalité, protesté
The other day I wondered if the Fridays For Future protests have finally dried up, I haven't seen masses of protesting students for a long time.
No, they are not. Last Friday, they gathered in various cities, in manageable numbers, no comparison to the mass protests a few years ago.
The pandemic may have played a part in this, as well as many other factors, but this one too: Germans are not trained in persevering protests, they do not cultivate a sustainable protest culture.
It has been a month and a half since the French government passed its controversial pension reform. She used an article in the constitution to circumvent a vote in parliament. As a result, garbage cans burned all over France, and hundreds of thousands took to the streets and protested.
Again today, it is protest day number 14, 400,000 to 600,000 demonstrators are expected.
"For weeks, President Emmanuel Macron has been received with cooking pot concerts at public events in the provinces," says my colleague Britta Sandberg, SPIEGEL's correspondent in France. "For this reason, individual prefectures even banned the use of 'portable sound equipment' during presidential visits."
Tomorrow's day of protest is seen by many as a last rebellion, says Britta. "Because only 48 hours later, on Thursday of this week, the small party LIOT will introduce a motion in parliament to overturn the law on pension reform. Politically, it is supported by the right-wing populist Rassemblement National, the left-wing alliance NUPES and parts of the Republicans."
Although the government is relaxed, Macron's popularity ratings have risen slightly again in the past two weeks. "But one last danger remains," says Britta. "Even if it is that the government has to apply another constitutional article to prevent the LIOT's initiative."
Protests against pension reform on 1 May: Violent riots in France
Pharmacist in Rage
In Taufkirchen near Munich, part of the municipality »Am Wald«, the place of my childhood and youth, there have always been two pharmacies. It takes two minutes on foot to get from the Linden Pharmacy to the Ash Pharmacy. No one could ever explain to me why there are two drug suppliers in such a small space.
For me, the peaceful co-existence was a sign of pure luxury. Apparently there was enough for two pharmacists to survive – caution, understatement. Apparently, the financial influx from the health care system was so rich that the usual market laws (survival of the fittest) did not apply. My pity for pharmacists has therefore always been limited.
But when this sector, which has been so well-liked so far, calls for a nationwide day of protest on June 14, for a kind of strike (with the exception of the emergency services), then something really seems to be wrong. "Supply bottlenecks, staff shortages and underfunding that has existed for years. Because the federal government repeatedly ignores the problems of public pharmacies in its legislative proposals, it destabilizes the supply of medicines in Germany," rumbles the ABDA Federal Association of German Pharmacists' Associations. And one remembers the scandalous days when feverish children did not get fever juice because it was hardly available in Germany.
That is why the ABDA is calling for a reduction in bureaucracy and more flexibility for pharmacists as well as better pay. "The fees charged by pharmacies consist to a large extent of a fixed amount that is intended to cover running costs. This fixed amount has not been adjusted for ten years now," says the spokesman for the Federal Association, which plans to announce its positions at a press conference today – just in time for the "Day of the Pharmacy" on Wednesday.
It seems as if new trouble is waiting for Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. Yet he already has the unpopular hospital reform on his cheek.
In Taufkirchen, by the way, the two pharmacies still exist. They belong together now.
Fire letter to Lauterbach: pediatricians warn of a shortage of medication in the fall
Click here for the current daily quiz
Today's starting question: "On my 69th birthday of all days, 69 people – I didn't order it that way – were repatriated to Afghanistan." Who said that?
Loser of the day ...
... a poor person who thought he was the new chairman of a party for a few hours – until he lost the post again. This is what happened to Hans Peter Doskozil, governor of Burgenland, who was named the new leader of the Austrian Social Democrats and their candidate for chancellor at the weekend, a "lifelong dream", as the elected official said. Yesterday the disillusionment: During the counting, votes had been swapped, a retelling showed that Doskozil is only second. The winner was Andreas Bablerã, mayor of the municipality of Traiskirchen. And all this apparently because of a slipped Excel spreadsheet. You don't think it can get any worse, but of course it gets worse and worse. Tu felix Austria!
Election farce at SPÖ: Austria, the sloppy republic
The latest news from the night
Pilot sat slumped in the cockpit: New details in the mysterious case of the crashed small aircraft near the U.S. capital: The pilot of the Cessna was apparently unconscious before the crash – possibly because of an oxygen problem.
Musk also sets the Twitter stage for anti-vaxxer Kennedy: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., scion of the famous Kennedy clan, recently attracted attention with corona skepticism - and would like to become US president. Now Twitter CEO Elon Musk put him in the spotlight.
Notorious U.S. double agent died in custody: According to the FBI, the agency's "most damaging spy in history" served life in prison for espionage for the Soviet Union and later Russia. Now, at the age of 79, Robert Hanssen has been found lifeless in his cell.
The SPIEGEL+ recommendations for today
The Pill Money Machines: Tablets, powders, ampoules: With all sorts of tricks, the dietary supplement industry is trying to keep the controversial business going. Pharmacists are often their henchmen.
Scholz, the recession chancellor: The Chancellor fantasizes about a new economic miracle, but there is no new beginning. Can the crisis still be averted?
"Appeals have not been successful so far": A technical innovation is intended to help prevent mobile phone use while driving. Here, Police Councillor Matthias Emmerich explains how AI is supposed to help detect misconduct and what this means for drivers.
What would the world be without mirrors?: Narcissus fell in love with his reflection in the mirror, Snow White became the victim of an overly honest mirror on the wall. A thought experiment about what we would see if we weren't staring at ourselves all the time.
I apologize for the gloom of this morning and wish you a happy Tuesday in spite of everything.
Yours sincerely, Martin Knobbe, Head of SPIEGEL's Berlin Office