On February 16, 2024, the death of Alexey Navalny, the Russian opposition figure and Putin's opponent, shocked the world. We, the colleagues at KulturKaufhaus, were also deeply affected by the news. A lot has happened since then. In addition to his fate, the reporting on Alexey Navalny reflects numerous topics that continue to concern us in other contexts: democracy, freedom of speech and the personal sacrifices we are all prepared to make for these values.