Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has announced her intention to become president of Russia after the end of President Vladimir Putin’s regime. In an interview with the BBC, Navalnaya expressed her determination to continue her husband’s fight for democracy. “I will participate in the elections as a candidate. My political opponent is Vladimir Putin and I will do everything to bring down his regime as soon as possible,” she said.
But for now her fight remains in exile, as she could be arrested on extremism charges if she returns to Russia. She told the BBC that she could not return as long as Putin was in power.
Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison for “politically motivated” charges and died under suspicious circumstances in a penal colony. His efforts to expose government corruption, particularly through the Anti-Corruption Foundation, have made him one of Putin’s most outspoken critics. Russia has denied any involvement in Alexei Navalny’s death, but US President Joe Biden expressed confidence that Putin was responsible.
After her husband’s death, Yulia Navalnaya said that their shared political beliefs and decisions influenced their children, Dasha, 23, and Zakhar, 16. I understand that I had no say in the matter.”
The Navalny couple was united in their determination to oppose Putin’s power grab, despite the risks. In 2021, Alexei Navalny, who survived poisoning with the nerve agent Novichok, returned to Russia, where he was detained. In an interview with the BBC, Yulia spoke about how her husband suffered in prison, including spending 295 days in solitary confinement. “Two weeks of expulsion is usually the most severe punishment. My husband spent almost a year there,” she said.
Navalnaya criticized the international response to her husband’s death, called sanctions imposed on Russian officials a “joke” and urged world leaders to “be a little less afraid” of Putin. Ta. She expressed a personal desire to see the Russian president brought to justice, saying, “I want him in a Russian prison. Not only that. I want him to be in the same situation as Alexei.” I want it to be.”
Yulia Navalnaya currently heads the Anti-Corruption Foundation and plans to release further evidence implicating the Putin regime.
Alexei Navalny began writing his memoir “Patriot” while recuperating in rural Germany after being poisoned with Novichok. After returning to Russia and later being imprisoned, he continued to record his thoughts and experiences through notebook entries, social media posts, and prison diaries, many of which were published for the first time.
Mr. Navalny reported that some of his works were confiscated by prison officials. The Patriot is both enlightening and harrowing. The tragic end to Alexei Navalny’s story makes his account of abuse and resistance even more shocking.
Yulia recounted her last conversation with her husband, in which they both acknowledged that he likely would not make it out of prison alive. “I never let it cross my mind that he might be killed,” she said. However, Alexei’s humor and laughter remained intact until the end, which Yulia called his “superpower.”
“He really, really laughed at this regime and at Vladimir Putin. That’s why President Vladimir Putin hated him so much,” she said.
