U2 paid tribute to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in a Russian penal colony where he died suddenly on Friday. On Saturday, during U2’s residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Bono addressed the crowd before their performance of Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” a staple during their residency.
As fan video footage showed, Bono began by speaking about busking in a Kyiv subway in Ukraine a couple of months before Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded the country. “Edge and I got to stand with some of the people in Ukraine as they stood in that train station, which was a converted bomb shelter. We got to stand with some of the people of Ukraine as they waited for the train to arrive with the rest of the free world on it.” He added: “They’re still waiting for some of that train to arrive. America, you’re so generous,” he said. “But let’s get these people what they need.”
“Next week it’ll be two years since Putin invaded and tried to destroy the hard-won freedoms” of the Ukrainian people, Bono said. “Next it’ll be Poland, next it’ll be Lithuania, East Germany — who knows where this man will or won’t go.
“To these people freedom is not just a word in a song. For these people, freedom is the most important word in the world — so important that Ukrainians are fighting and dying for it. And it’s so important that Alexei Navalny chose to give his up,” Bono added, referring to Navalny’s decision to return to Russia in 2021, where he was immediately arrested and imprisoned.
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Navalny was detained by Russian authorities on what are widely regarded as fabricated charges of corruption intended to silence his criticism of Putin. Prior to being arrested, Navalny survived at least two documented assassination attempts. His imprisonment spurred widespread protests against the Putin government throughout Russia. In 2022, Navalny was sentenced to nine years in prison with an additional 19 years added to his sentence in August.
“Apparently Putin would never, ever say his name. So I thought tonight, the free people, from here, people who believe in freedom — we must say his name. Not just remember it, but say it,” Bono said on Saturday, leading the crowd in a chant of “Alexei Navalny” as he and the Edge launched into their acoustic performance of the Crowded House classic.