Explainer | Is Alexei Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya the new face of Russian opposition?
- Alexei Navalny’s widow has accused President Vladimir Putin of killing her husband and vowed to continue his life’s work
- Any successor of Navalny would inherit a battered opposition movement whose key figures are either dead, jailed or in exile
The death – possible murder – of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent dissident, sent anti-Kremlin activism into disarray. Preparing to step into the void is his widow, Yulia Navalnaya.
Like her husband, Navalnaya is vibrant, eloquent and photogenic. In a nine-minute emotional but measured speech broadcast from a domestic setting on YouTube, the widow has already made her case and is emerging as a potent symbol.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the world’s most ruthless autocratic leaders. Opposition to him has never prospered, and opponents usually end up in prison or dead.
Who is Yulia Navalnaya?
Yulia, Moscow-born and an economist by training, married Alexei in 2000, and the couple has a daughter, Daria, and son, Zakhar.
Throughout Navalny’s bold and dramatic political career, his wife stayed largely in the background, shunning the spotlight and deferring to her husband. Her main mission, she said, was to support Alexei and protect the children from unkind prying eyes and potential dangers.
Still, Yulia Navalnaya, 47, was seen as her husband’s rock, an important source of his strength and determination. Their public shows of affection are rare among Russian politicians, who often sideline women.
One unforgettable public appearance was in a Russian courtroom in 2021. Alexei was in the prisoner’s cage. He gestured at Yulia, in the audience, forming a heart shape with his hands. It was one of the last times they saw each other in person.
