Yulia Navalnaya, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s widow, vowed to continue her husband’s fight against President Vladimir Putin, after the family was denied access to his body.
“Another person should have been here in my place. But this person was killed by Vladimir Putin.”
Ms. Navalnaya vowed to continue her husband’s activism against the Russian president, calling upon all Russians to rally around her and share in her “anger.”
“Anger, rage, hatred for those who dare to destroy our future.”
The video was posted a few hours before Ms. Navalnaya arrived in Brussels to meet with the European Council, which is eyeing new sanctions in the wake of Mr. Navalny’s demise in a Russian prison.
“We know exactly why Putin killed Alexei three days ago,” Ms. Navalnaya’s asserted in her video.
“We will tell you about it soon,” she added, vowing to “definitely find out” who committed the alleged murder. “We will tell you their names and show you their faces,” she said, before proudly stating to continue the work of her husband.
“I will continue to fight for our country.”
“Alexey’s mother and his lawyers arrived at the morgue early in the morning. They were not allowed to go in. One of the lawyers was literally pushed out. When the staff was asked if Alexey’s body was there, they did not answer.”
One hour later, Ms. Yarmysh posted a follow-up.
“They lie, buy time for themselves and do not even hide it.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the investigation into the cause of death was ongoing, but dismissed what he called “frankly boorish” accusations of a Kremlin-ordered assassination as “unacceptable” and premature.
No date has been announced when Mr. Navalny’s body will be handed over.
According to Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, Mr. Navalny felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness almost immediately; emergency personnel were unable to resuscitate him.
Mr. Navalny’s supporters have explained the 47-year-old lawyer’s death as a poisoning.
The Russian activist had been poisoned before, during a visit to Siberia in 2020. He was rushed to Germany for treatment, where it was determined Mr. Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent.
Mr. Navalny blamed Mr. Putin for the attack, which the Kremlin denied.
The Kremlin has labeled Mr. Navalny and his supporters as extremists linked to a CIA intent on destabilizing Russia from within.
In recent days, Russian media outlets have been reporting that, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues to draw ire from the Western world, Mr. Navalny’s death comes at a politically convenient time for the West, with some Kremlin hawks suggesting that the West could be behind his death.
Meanwhile, all across Russia people have been leaving flowers, candles, and photos of Mr. Navalny at local memorials for victims of communism, in an unambiguous expression of their feelings towards their government and Mr. Navalny.
