(NewsReady.com) – Russia has long masqueraded as a democracy. President Vladimir Putin keeps winning elections, but those races are far from fair or free. Recently, the country’s authorities issued an arrest warrant for another of his opponents.
Yulia Navalnaya married Alexei Navalny in 2000 and remained his spouse until he died in a Russian penal colony in 2024. Her husband was Putin’s main opposition for years. When the Russian president’s agents allegedly failed to kill him by poisoning him, he was arrested and tried for various crimes. He died in prison.
Navalnaya has spent years speaking out in support of her husband. She continued that mission after his death and put herself in Putin’s sights. On July 9, a Russian court issued an arrest warrant for her. The documents accuse her of hiding from investigators and call for her to be extradited from abroad. The 47-year-old lives in Germany.
Russian authorities have not given details about the crimes Navalnaya is charged with, but they appear to be related to Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption. Russia has designated the organization an “extremist ogranisation [sic].”
The Human Rights Foundation recently announced that Navalnaya will serve as the organization’s chairwoman. She said that she was going to use her new position to continue her late husband’s work. In a statement, Navalny’s widow pledged to “take on board everything that can be useful to fight Putin.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz accused Russia of issuing the warrant “against the desire for freedom and democracy.” The chancellor said Navalnaya is carrying on her husband’s legacy by continuing his important work.
Russian authorities arrested Navalny in 2021. He was serving a 19-year sentence at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony. Prison officials told his mother that he died from “sudden death syndrome” in February. His spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said that he “was murdered.” The Kremlin has denied it had any involvement in the opposition leader’s death.
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