Readers Write: The death of Alexei Navalny, Burnsville shooting, music in the park

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The death of Alexei Navalny (”Jailed or not, an audacious thorn in Putin’s side,” Feb. 17) puts his breathtaking bravery opposing a heartless strongman and dictator into sharp contrast to the spinelessness of an entire national political party’s leadership, who cannot and will not admit their emperor has no clothes (nor morals, integrity or one whit of concern for American citizens). Shame, shame on those (especially the Minnesota Republican congresspeople) who continue to support the presidential candidate who admires, fawns over and wants to emulate Vladimir Putin, Navalny’s ultimate assassin.

Liz Kroschel, Afton

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So Navalny “died.” How sad. And just six months after Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin died in an “accidental” plane crash. Talk about a streak of bad “coincidences”! This stuff could give Russia a bad name!

And speaking of bad names, imagine the bad name our country will bear if Ukraine succumbs to Russian aggression for want of American military supplies. Apparently there are members of Congress who are so myopic that they don’t understand the ramifications of a Russian victory in Ukraine. Or, maybe they do understand but believe fealty to Donald Trump is of greater importance. In either case, these Pollyanna politicians should heed the words of their esteemed colleague, Sen. Angus King. He said, if you don’t understand the significance of all this, “Google: ‘Sudetenland, 1938.’”

Richard Masur, Minneapolis

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Last week a courageous Navalny lost his life in a Russian prison, joining a long list of killed political opponents of Vladimir Putin. Putin, meanwhile, continues his deadly assault on Ukraine, shelling cities and killing innocent civilians daily. Ukrainian soldiers, defending their homeland, are forced to abandon cities due to lack of ammunition. Yet none of this seems to bother the House Republicans who are, by their inaction, de facto supporters of Putin. Ronald Reagan said tyrants are tempted only when the forces of freedom are weak. House Republicans, with their Neville Chamberlainesque dithering and two-week vacations, are doing a darn good job tempting Putin and other would-be despots around the world. Penny-wise but pound-foolish, and oblivious to history, they fail to realize that if Putin prevails in Ukraine, America will be paying far more in dollars and lives in future wars of aggression encouraged by our failure to stand up in this one.

Republicans join a truly enviable club of Putin backers that includes Ali Khamenei of Iran and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. In the spirit of Soviet-era propaganda, perhaps Putin should put the images of himself, Khamenei, Kim and House Speaker Mike Johnson on the same promotional poster.

Stanley Woolner, St. Paul

Reading of Navalny’s death under the tender mercies of the Soviet — oops — Russian system recalls two novels that make Trump’s invitation to Putin totally irrational. “Do[ing] whatever the hell they want” is a frightening prospect. Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness at Noon” (1940) and Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” (1962) are period pieces from the Stalin/Khrushchev era but relate the environment under the Stalin purges in the ’30s. I don’t think we want neo-communist Putin’s folks doing what the hell they want anywhere. And believe me, should it come to that, somebody like Trump would be the first to go because there is no way he could keep his mouth shut. He should read more history.

Harald Eriksen, Brooklyn Park

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Avdiivka, Ukraine, a former stronghold of the Donetsk region, just fell because the Ukrainian army did not have enough artillery ammunition.

I am perplexed and incredibly saddened by the cowardly actions of the Minnesota Republican delegation to Congress as they refuse to fund the Ukrainians. I served in the U.S. Air Force for four years, helping to protect Europe from the Soviet Union. I ask that you go back 40 years and join me in the hardened bunker under Britain as we planned the defense of Europe. Please join me in the Blackhawk helicopter as we flew with the flight of Apaches in a high-speed, low-altitude, very dangerous exercise mission across the West German countryside.

You are not Americans; you are pawns in Putin’s war.

Chris Hartnett, Minneapolis

When three U.S. service members are killed by Iranian-backed groups in Jordan, the U.S. strikes back. Republicans call this response by President Joe Biden weak. When three first responders are killed by gunfire in Burnsville, what is the congressional response to curb U.S. gun violence? (”‘Two down! Officer down!’” front page, Feb. 19.) The majority of U.S. citizens support gun reform, but Congress continues to do nothing.

Suzanne Larson, Plymouth

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Vicki Underland-Rosow, Minneapolis

A glance at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board concert schedule for the Lake Harriet Band Shell from past years reveals a wonderfully eclectic assortment of local artists, from community orchestras and vocal groups to enthusiastic amateur bands, with a few established or aspiring professional musicians in the mix (“Minneapolis Park Board must stop exploiting artists,” Opinion Exchange). I’m expecting the vast majority of these acts feel as I do when I have the opportunity to play there: It’s a joy to play outdoors, on an iconic local stage, and have a back line staffed by professional sound engineers paid for by the Park Board. The few established bands in the schedule don’t have to play at Lake Harriet, but they do, and that’s also telling. It’s an arrangement that has benefits for the musicians, the Park Board and the community.

Sure, it’s theoretically possible to reallocate dollars within an already-stressed Park Board budget to pay musicians. And it’s possible to attract and populate Park Board stages with acts that expect to be paid. The suburbs of Minneapolis have their summer concert schedules filled with them, but the paid lineups are typically less musically diverse, less community based and less local. If you plan on continuing to provide performance opportunities for the same sorts of groups that have populated Park Board stages in recent years, you’re dealing with folks who might be delighted to receive a few bucks but certainly don’t expect it.

Musicians absolutely deserve compensation for playing in venues that profit from their talents. The Park Board is not a profit-making venture, however, and has established a structure that makes sound use of public assets to support musicians, entertain audiences and build community for the benefit of all three. It should continue doing what already works well.