Iulia Navalnaia plans to run for president against Putin
Iulia Navalnaia, the wife of former Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalnîi, stated that she intends to return to Russia one day and run for president once Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is no longer in power, reports the BBC.
The Kremlin characterises Navalnîi’s political allies as dangerous extremists serving the West, with the aim of destabilising the country. Additionally, the Russian state apparatus claims that Putin enjoys overwhelming support among ordinary Russians, with his popularity rating exceeding 80%.
Navalnîi has described Putin’s Russia as a criminal state, controlled by thieves, bureaucrats, and spies concerned only with wealth. He has long predicted that Russia could experience political unrest, including the possibility of revolution.
In one of his final essays, written in 2023, Navalnîi criticised the Russian elite for its lack of scruples, condemning those who squandered the historic opportunity to reform the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Iulia Navalnaia has accused Putin of ordering her husband's murder, a charge the Kremlin has denied. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Putin did not order Navalnîi’s murder, according to reports from the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal.
In August, Navalnaia dismissed investigators' reports that Navalnîi had died due to a "combination of illnesses." She told the BBC that the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which she now leads in her husband's place, has evidence that will be disclosed once they have the "complete picture."
Translation by Iurie Tataru
