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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to show you photographs of two individuals. Two years ago, I had the privilege of meeting this man, Vladimir Kara-Murza. He is a patriot and a Russian opposition leader-- what a risky business to be in.

Putin twice tried to poison him but failed. After his recovery here in the United States, he made a conscious decision that I couldn't believe. He said: I am going back to Russia. Someone has to be willing to fight and die for freedom and democracy in that country.

I said to him, as he was leaving: You are going to face certain arrest and imprisonment.

He said: I know it, but I have got to do it.

He had to continue the fight. I will never forget that moment of bravery and conviction in my office. Not long after his return to Russia, he was arrested for criticizing Putin's war in Ukraine.

He showed the same kind of patriotic courage as his compatriot Alexey Navalny, who died just a few days ago at the hands of Vladimir Putin's henchmen.

Putin tried to kill Navalny by poison too. He barred Navalny from running for office, from sharing stories of massive Kremlin corruption, and from speaking of the horrors of the Ukraine war.

Through it all, like Kara-Murza, Navalny was undeterred, and we know what happened--his tragic fate in that Arctic prison where he had been exiled. He was murdered by Vladimir Putin for fighting for freedom.

Navalny, Kara-Murza, and the Ukrainians on the frontlines are the brave patriots in this world, heroes Congress should look to for inspiration and courage, instead of a resort in Florida known as Mar-a- Lago.

In this small but lasting tribute to Navalny's courage today, Senator Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, and I are introducing legislation to rename the street next to the residence of the Russian Ambassador to the United States. The new name will be ``Navalny Way.''

This will not change what Putin has done or the unspeakable harm he has caused the Navalny family or millions of Ukrainians, including those children who have been kidnapped. But unlike the hooded Putin thugs trying to erase Navalny's memory by arresting mourners and quickly removing fliers left at makeshift memorials, this will force Russian diplomats in Washington to be reminded every day, as they drive by, of their crimes.

I hope Congress will quickly pass this symbolically important measure and, in a larger tribute to Navalny, our Ukrainian allies, and the thousands of kidnapped Ukrainian children, pass the supplemental without further delay.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) The administration of President Vladimir V. Putin of the Russian Federation has engaged in transnational repression, assassinations of political opponents, poisoning and other attempted murders of political opponents, journalists, and human rights defenders, systemic human rights abuses, and unprovoked military attacks against and deployments to neighboring countries.

(2) The administration of President Vladimir V. Putin of the Russian Federation has carried out arrests and detentions of individuals who peacefully seek democratic freedoms or oppose his repression, corruption, and invasion of Ukraine.

(3) Alexei Navalny was a Russian political dissident and activist dedicated to promoting democratic freedoms and fighting corruption in Russia.

(4) On February 16, 2024, the Russian prison where Alexei Navalny was being held after his conviction on fabricated charges in February 2021 announced that he had died a day after he was seen in good health.

(5) Alexei Navalny had a history of exposing the widespread corruption that sustained the Putin regime by enriching its enablers. He was recognized and awarded on numerous occasions for his work fighting corruption and promoting democratic ideals. Those recognitions and awards include the 2015 Prize of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, a nomination for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, the 2021 Boris Nemtsov Prize for Courage, the 2021 Moral Courage Award by the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, the 2021 Knight of Freedom Award by the Casimir Pulaski Foundation, and the 2021 Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament.

(6) Alexei Navalny and fellow dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza endured several poisonings and other attempts on their lives carried out by Putin's government.

(7) Renaming the street near the official residence of the Russian Ambassador to the United States serves as a continuing expression of solidarity between the people of the United States and the people of the Russian Federation, who are engaged in a sustained, peaceful, and patriotic struggle for fundamental freedoms. SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF ALEXEI NAVALNY WAY.

(a) Designation of Way.--

(1) In general.--The area of Sumner Row Northwest between 16th Street Northwest and L Street Northwest in Washington, District of Columbia, shall be known and designated as ``Alexei Navalny Way''.

(2) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the area referred to in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be a reference to ``Alexei Navalny Way''.

(b) Signs.--The District of Columbia shall construct 2 street signs--

(1) that contain the phrase ``Alexei Navalny Way'';

(2) one of which shall be placed immediately above existing signs between 1135 16th Street Northwest and 1119-1125 16th Street Northwest;

(3) one of which shall be placed on a sign post at 1555 L Street Northwest; and

(4) that are similar in design to the signs used by the District of Columbia to designate the location of Metro stations.

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