1. Yulia Navalnaya's mother worked for the Ministry of Light Industry; her parents divorced when Navalnaya was in fifth grade, and her mother married a second time, to an employee of the USSR State Planning Committee.
23 Facts About Yulia Navalnaya
1. 2.
In 2020, journalist Oleg Kashin alleged that Yulia Navalnaya's father was Boris Borisovich Abrosimov, then serving as secretary of the Russian embassy in Great Britain, associated with the special services, and that her aunt was Elena Borisovna Abrosimova, one of the authors of the Russian constitution.
3.
Yulia Navalnaya later served an internship abroad and undertook postgraduate studies.
4.
Yulia Navalnaya became the first secretary and assistant to her husband.
5.
The family's life became noticeably more public, so that Yulia Navalnaya was in the spotlight as the "first lady of the Russian opposition".
6.
Observers note that she never tried to position herself as an independent figure: Yulia Navalnaya always behaves like a devoted wife and companion, ready for harsh statements and decisive actions if her husband needs it, but not directly related to politics.
7.
Yulia Navalnaya spoke at a number of rallies; she called the head of the National Guard of Russia Viktor Zolotov, who in September 2018 challenged Alexei Navalny to a "duel", as a "thief, coward and impudent bandit".
8.
Yulia Navalnaya attracted close public attention in the late summer and early fall of 2020, when her husband was urgently hospitalised in Omsk following a suspected poisoning.
9.
Yulia Navalnaya demanded that Navalny be released to Germany for treatment, and even turned directly to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
10.
In January 2021, Yulia Navalnaya returned to Russia with her husband.
11.
Yulia Navalnaya's supporters suspected that he had been tortured in prison, and they, along with Western world leaders, believe that he was murdered by prison officials on the eve of him being freed in a prison swap with a German prisoner.
12.
Yulia Navalnaya vowed that she would continue his work after his death.
13.
On 9 July 2024, Russia's Basmanny District Court ordered the arrest of Yulia Navalnaya for "participating in an extremist community".
14.
Political analyst Konstantin Kalachev said in January 2021 that Yulia Navalnaya's role had changed: "From the wife of a politician, she is herself becoming a politician"; "she has charisma and charm, and can easily replace her husband if necessary".
15.
In January 2021, the pro-Kremlin channel Tsargrad TV threatened to publish intimate files of Alexei Navalny unless Yulia Navalnaya promised "not to become Tsikhanouskaya in Russia" and "not to play political games".
16.
Yulia Navalnaya leads the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which was founded by her husband in 2011.
17.
On 1 July 2024, Yulia Navalnaya was announced as the chairperson of Human Rights Foundation, succeeding Garry Kasparov.
18.
On 21 October 2024, on the eve of launching Navalny's memoir Patriot, Yulia Navalnaya gave an interview to the BBC, in which she stated that she would stand for president of Russia once Putin was no longer in power.
19.
Yulia Navalnaya said that she would like to see Putin behind bars, punished for his crimes.
20.
Yulia Navalnaya said that the Anti-Corruption Foundation has evidence which will be released once all of the details have been collected.
21.
In 2015, Yulia Navalnaya was ranked 67th in the top 100 most influential women in Russia by Echo of Moscow.
22.
Yulia Navalnaya helped her husband's parents in their business related to basket weaving.
23.
Yulia Navalnaya was prevented from seeing her husband for two years leading up to his death.