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And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Axe Files, with

your host, David Axelrod.

With the latest news about the poisoning in Russia of Putin-Aponent Alexey Navalny and

all the stresses on our democracy, some of which are emanating from the Kremlin, I'm

reaching into the best of the Axe Files vault for this 2018 conversation with Vladimir

Karamurta, a valiant leader of the democracy movement in Russia, who himself has been

the victim of poisoning, twice.

Vladimir Karamurta also is a former fellow at the Institute of Politics at the University

of Chicago.

And I had another reason for choosing this particular conversation because as you listen

to Vladimir talk about the struggle for democracy in Russia, I hope you'll think about

the obligations we have as Americans to participate in free elections and exercise our vote.

Here's our conversation.

Vladimir Karamurta is so good to be with you, so good to be with you this spring at the

Institute of Politics.

You continue to be, despite the discouragement, we'll call it that and people will understand

what we mean later in this, a huge force for change in Russia.

But you kind of come by these instincts naturally.

This is not a new thing.

Your family has been involved in journalism, involved in activism, involved in the movement

for reform.

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