I think you have to be Russian to fully grasp the motivations behind this. I've got a lot of mileage out of the assumption that every such act is supposed to s

I think you have to be Russian to fully grasp the motivations behind this. I've got a lot of mileage out of the assumption that every such act is supposed to send a message both to Russia's enemies and citizens. The message being "we are everywhere". Should anyone try to start working with the enemy, like the helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov, they will be found and executed. EDIT: Navalny's return to Russia raised eyebrows in the west. I think he was aware that he would be targeted anyway, so might as well have it happen on his own terms.