In his recently published memoir, the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny reflects on how his 2013 campaign for mayor of Moscow was profoundly inspired by the American grassroots political landscape portrayed in David Simon’s acclaimed HBO series, *The Wire*.
“I wasn’t allowed to appear on television or in print, so I opted for direct communication,” Navalny wrote. He tragically passed away in February while imprisoned in the Arctic, with many believing that his death was orchestrated by Vladimir Putin, the very authoritarian leader he opposed. “I described our campaign as ‘like a movie’ because I’m a huge fan of *The Wire*. There’s a season where the protagonist runs for mayor of Baltimore. I instructed my team, who organized public meetings, that I wanted to replicate that scenario: a stage, chairs for the elderly, with groups gathered around. In Russia, this kind of setup was unprecedented, although it’s quite typical in American election campaigns.”
Despite not winning the mayoral race, Navalny remained unyielding in his opposition to Putin and attempted to run for president in 2018. Following his death at age 47, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has continued his mission, including the release of his memoir, *Patriot: A Memoir*, which came out just this Tuesday.
*The Wire*, which aired from 2002 to 2008, has often been dubbed one of the greatest TV series of all time. The storyline featuring the fictional mayor Tommy Carcetti, portrayed by Irish actor Aiden Gillen, began in the third season. It is widely believed that former Baltimore mayor and Maryland governor Martin O’Malley served as inspiration for Carcetti, although Simon himself has dismissed such claims.
Navalny has publicly expressed his admiration for *The Wire* before. In March 2022, after being sentenced to a lengthy prison term on what many viewed as trumped-up fraud charges, he tweeted, “Nine years. As the characters in my favorite series *The Wire* used to say: ‘You only do two days. That’s the day you go in and the day you come out.’ I even had a T-shirt with that slogan, but the prison authorities took it, considering it extremist.”
In solidarity, Simon tweeted images of himself wearing a T-shirt bearing the same quote, with the words “Fuck Putin” on the back. He reached out to Navalny, stating: “Thanks for the loan of it … but the quote is yours now. You own it. And stay strong, brother. The whole world is watching.” Navalny responded with humor, quipping, “So technically, the characters from *The Wire* are now quoting me? Thank you so much, David, this gift really means A LOT. We all must stay strong, so you can deliver another famous line from your series, ‘What the f*** did I do?’ to Putin one day—he’ll utter it during his trial.”
Alongside his admiration for *The Wire*, Navalny also expressed his appreciation for another American cultural icon: Hunter S. Thompson, the father of “gonzo” journalism who passed away in 2005. After being sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of extremism last August, Navalny issued a long statement titled *My Fear and Loathing*, nodding to Thompson’s celebrated work, *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream*.
“Loathing,” Navalny wrote. “People ask me if I hate the judge or Putin even more. I have consistently stated that overcoming hate is essential in prison. It’s all too easy to let that anger consume you, especially when you feel powerless.”
In his memoir, Navalny claims that his prison diary, now included in the book, represents “gonzo journalism.” He boldly suggested, “I think I’ve outgonzoed Hunter S. Thompson, even with his convertible, his ‘seventy-five pellets of mescaline … a salt shaker half full of cocaine,’ and whatever else he might have had (I don’t remember precisely). But I truly love that book and film,” he added, evoking Terry Gilliam’s 1998 adaptation.
