Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has revealed plans to return to Russia and run for political office once President Vladimir Putin is no longer in power. In an interview with the BBC aired on Monday, Navalnaya, whose husband died under mysterious circumstances in a Russian prison earlier this year, expressed her desire to continue her husband’s work but emphasized that she would not return to Russia until the current regime falls.
“I want to live in Russia. I was born in Moscow, our children were born in Moscow… of course, it’s not possible while Putin is in power, but I hope one day this regime will fall, and I will come back,” Navalnaya said. She added that upon her return, she plans to run for office, positioning herself against Putin’s legacy.
“My political opponent is Vladimir Putin, and I will do everything I can to make his regime fall as soon as possible,” she declared.
Navalnaya also criticized the international community’s response to her husband’s death, describing it as “a joke” and calling for stronger action against the Kremlin.
In July, Russia officially labeled Navalnaya, who has lived in Germany for several years, as a “terrorist” and “extremist.” Her late husband’s memoir, Patriot, which details his 2020 poisoning and harsh imprisonment, is set for release on Tuesday.
Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Putin, died in February while serving a sentence in a penal colony, where he had been held in brutal conditions, prompting international outrage.
