Yulia Navalnaya: the new face of Russia's opposition
Widow of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny vows to return home and run for president 'once Putin is gone'

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has declared her intention to run for president of Russia – but only once Vladimir Putin has gone.
Marking the launch of "Patriot", the memoir her husband was writing before his death from a suspected state-authorised poisoning in a Russian penal colony earlier this year, the 48-year-old vowed to "do everything to make [Putin's] regime fall as soon as possible".
For now that has to be from "outside Russia", said the BBC. But the day, Navalnaya believes, will inevitably come "when the Putin era ends and Russia once again opens up".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Political roots
Born in Moscow in 1976 at the height of the Cold War, Yulia Abrosimova's father was a scientist and her mother worked for the Soviet Ministry of Light Industry. A graduate in international economics, she was interning at a Copenhagen business school when she met recent law graduate Navalny while holidaying in Turkey in 1998. They married two years later just as Vladimir Putin was coming to power, and Navalnaya left her banking career to raise the couple's two children while Navalny pursued a political career.
As her husband became an increasingly vocal and high-profile critic of the regime over the next 15 years, she found herself ever more the focus of state surveillance and attention. When out with their daughter, Dasha, born in 2001, and son, Zakhar, born in 2008, she would often be followed by secret agents, trying to turn it into a game for her children.
In post-Soviet politics, Navalny's "magnetism, flair for social media and fluency in the street argot of younger Russians all singled him out", said The Times.
This was in stark contrast to his wife, who for years "sought to avoid the limelight", said Politico. But behind the scenes "those who knew the couple well said Navalnaya not only shared her husband's views, but also helped shape them".
Into the limelight
Any chance of staying out of the public eye ended in 2020, when Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent. After receiving treatment in Germany, he decided to return to Russia in 2021, a move many – including himself – knew represented a near-certain death sentence.
And so it proved, when Navalny died in suspicious circumstances in February this year, just weeks before he was due to be released as part of a prisoner exchange with the West.
Since then "no single leader has emerged to unite the country's disparate opposition and there has been significant infighting between different Russian dissident groups abroad", said Reuters.
Navalnaya's current roles include chair of the Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by her husband and US-based Human Rights Federation. But with her vow to continue her husband's crusade against the Putin regime from abroad and one day return to her homeland and run for president, she is undoubtedly now the "public face of Russia's opposition", said The Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Aston Martin Vantage Roadster: 'a rare treat indeed'
The Week Recommends The Roadster version of Aston Martin's new Vantage coupé makes even 'the most mundane journey feel special'
-
Bad Friend: Tiffany Watt Smith explores why women abandon friendships
The Week Recommends A 'deeply researched' account of female friendship through history
-
Brazil's reborn dolls craze
Under The Radar The 'hyper-realistic' babies soaring in popularity in South American nation have spawned controversy
-
'The answer isn't to shake faith in the dollar'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Frustrated Trump warns 'crazy' Putin
Feature Trump lashes out online after Putin launches his largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine
-
'Russia's position is fragile'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump's super-charged pardon push raises eyebrows and concerns
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Never shy about using his pardon ability for political leverage, Trump's spate of amnesty announcements suggests the White House is taking things to a new level
-
How the Arctic became a geopolitical flashpoint
The Explainer The UK is working with Nato allies in the Arctic Circle to prepare for potential Russian aggression
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Experts are split on the findings in RFK Jr.'s 'MAHA' report
In the Spotlight The HHS secretary's report targeted processed foods and vaccines, among other things
-
Democrats are on the hunt for their own Joe Rogan
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Party leaders and mega-donors want to counter MAGA's online momentum by recreating a digital right-wing ecosystem for the left