I had a privilege to meet Alexei Navalny and interview him for a student newspaper at Yale, in 2011. He was a Yale World Scholar then, one of international guests of honor, invited by Yale for their courage and achievements. He came for four months to give lectures, mentor students, do his research and speak of Russia he had dreamt of and fought for. He probably did more than that – looking back, I think he searched for influential supporters at US universities for his democratization agenda and expanded his global network mobilizing people and resources for Russia – the country he loved and could not imagine leaving for longer.…