On Monday, Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, made a solemn vow to carry on his fight against the Kremlin, even as authorities denied Navalny’s mother access to the morgue where his body is believed to be held following his recent death at an Arctic penal colony.
Struggling to contain her emotions, Yulia Navalnaya pointed a finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of orchestrating her husband’s demise in the remote prison. She pledged to hold Putin and others accountable for their alleged roles in Navalny’s death.
Navalnaya also criticized authorities for withholding Navalny’s body from his mother, suggesting it was an attempt to conceal his suspected murder and referenced his previous poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent, Novichok.
Russian officials stated that the cause of Navalny’s death at the age of 47 on Friday remains undetermined. Navalny had been imprisoned since January 2021, following his return to Moscow after recovering from poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent, an incident he attributed to the Kremlin. Throughout his detention, Navalny faced multiple charges he dismissed as politically motivated.
“They are cowardly and meanly hiding his body, refusing to give it to his mother and lying miserably while waiting for the trace of another Putin’s Novichok to disappear,” Navalnaya lamented.
Navalnaya urged the Russian populace to stand alongside her in sharing both their grief and her determination to seek justice. Quoting her late husband, she emphasized the importance of taking action against injustice rather than succumbing to intimidation.
She called upon all who mourn Navalny to unite in realizing his vision of a better future for Russia, ensuring that his sacrifices were not made in vain.
“The main thing that we can do for Alexei and ourselves is to keep fighting,” she declared. “Stronger, more fiercely and valiantly that we did before.”
Navalny’s spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, criticized the Investigative Committee for prolonging the official probe into Navalny’s death and accused them of buying time to cover up the truth.
While many world leaders held Putin’s government responsible for Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov condemned their statements as “boorish” and “inadmissible.”
Navalnaya, along with Navalny’s mother and lawyers, was denied access to the morgue where Navalny’s body is purportedly held. The Kremlin distanced itself from the proceedings, stating that the official investigation was ongoing in accordance with the law.
Navalny’s allies condemned the Russian authorities, accusing them of concealing evidence of foul play.
Navalny’s untimely demise, less than a month before an election expected to extend Putin’s tenure, has dealt a significant blow to the Russian opposition and left many supporters mourning the loss of a vocal critic of the Kremlin.
Despite the hurdles, Navalnaya remains resolute in her commitment to continue Navalny’s work and seek justice for his death.
