Alexei Navalny’s widow vowed Monday to continue her husband’s work after his death, and take on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I will continue Alexei Navalny’s cause and fight for our country. I urge you to stand by me,” Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of politician Alexei Navalny, declared in a video address.
“There should be another in my place — but they were murdered by Vladimir Putin,” she added.
At the Munich Security Conference on Friday, shortly after Navalny’s death in a penal colony was announced, Yulia Navalnaya accused Putin of murdering her husband.
“Putin had a specific reason for killing Alexei three days ago, which we will reveal soon. We’ll identify those responsible for this crime, naming them and showing their faces,” she stated on Monday.
“Putin aimed not just to kill Alexei — but to extinguish our hope, freedom, and future. I’ve supported Alexei throughout the years — but today, I stand by you, understanding your loss is no less significant than mine,” Yulia Navalnaya said.
Regarding her potential role as opposition leader to Putin, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told POLITICO: “As an icon, certainly, but the opposition must collectively decide on the new leader.” Yulia Navalnaya was invited to speak at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers on Monday.
Navalny’s body remains inaccessible to his family and team. On Monday, the Salekhard morgue staff prevented Navalny’s mother and lawyers from entering, as reported by his press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, on X (formerly Twitter). Surveillance footage published by Mediazona shows a convoy possibly transporting Navalny’s body towards Salekhard on the night of February 17.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Monday the Kremlin is not involved in the decision to release the body to Navalny’s family.
The human rights group OVD-Info, an independent Russian watchdog, encouraged public demands to an investigative committee for the release of Navalny’s body, emphasizing the safety of this approach. Within two days, people sent more than 52,000 requests.
Meanwhile, police detained 389 individuals across various Russian cities for attempting to honor Navalny by laying flowers at monuments dedicated to the victims of Soviet repression.
Prison authorities say Navany, 47, suffered “sudden death syndrome” at a remote Arctic prison on Friday. His allies believe he was murdered on the orders of President Vladimir Putin.