Anyone with such a cynical attitude like yours is inevitably doomed to failure. I’m not picking on you, specifically, just pointing out why these powers can hold such a firm grasp. Hope is really scarce these days.
You can talk the talk, but walking the walk is a different story. The OP was referring specifically to the latter - that Navalny indeed is one of the bravest, and that most people lose all their enthusiasm to object as soon as they or their loved ones are put a gun to their head (both literally and figuratively speaking). It's not cynical to observe and note this fact of life in an authoritarian state, it's simply being honest with themselves.
This cynical attitude would condemn the OP to a mundane life rather than being poisoned by a dictator. Opposition politicans in dictatorships are brave... And arguably suicidal...
