After multiple assassination attempts, imprisonment and Russian authorities making no secret of their plans to arrest him on arrival Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and his wife in a show of defiance/incredible courage are heading back to Moscow. This is truly an inspiring story that demonstrates tremendous courage, leadership and dedication to country/cause. I wish them both well and I truly hope he is able to eventually stir Russian politics away from the tried/tested authoritarianism that’s done nothing but to isolate Russia and undermine its true value as a nation of tremendous talent/ingenuity that has plenty to offer to the world away from the narrow/nationalist ideology that’s been the hallmark of its worldview. There are plenty of challenges/opportunities out there and being trapped in ideologies of the past that are primarily driven by military power/political meddling that do nothing but prolong regional conflicts translates to wasted time/resources that can be much better utilised in many areas of development & economic growth. Russia can do with a change and first change needed is to redefine its role in the world through both confidence in its capabilities and determination to play a more positive role in dealing with challenges/opportunities of the future. Democracy provides a good starting point and if there have been failures in the past due to poor leadership, well its poor leadership that is the problem not Democracy which is an imperfect system but the best we have and at the very least it is one that continually evolves. Russia needs to start looking forward rather than being locked in the past and maybe just maybe Alexey Navalny can help make such a transition possible; he deserves our support and most of all our respect.