As Chair Of Human Rights Organization In The US, Widow Of Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Promises To Increase The Struggle Against Putin

Yulia Navalnaya. (Wikimedia Commons/European Parliament)

JAKARTA - Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russia's late opposition politician Alexei Navalny, said on Monday she would use her new role as chairman of the US-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) to increase her husband's struggle against President Vladimir Putin.

New York-based HMF said in a statement it had appointed Navalnaya to replace former world chess champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov as chairman of a non-profit rights group, which provides humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and is running a campaign against authoritarian leaders around the world.

"As someone who has personally witnessed the threat of a dictatorship to our loved ones and the world in general, I feel very honored to take on the role of Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation," Navalnaya (47) said in an HRF statement.

Writing on X in Russian, she said her appointment would allow the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) founded by her late husband to share her experience more broadly, in conducting high-level investigations and organizing the work of activists.

"There are also many ideas ACF can borrow from a US-based foundation that he will lead," he added.

"We will accept all that can be useful against Putin, to fight for a beautiful Russia in the future," said Navalnaya.

"The main thing for me is the continuation of Alexei's work. I believe that working with HRF can help me and the rest of the team to do that," he explained.

Alexei Navalny, who during his lifetime was described by the Kremlin as a dangerous US-backed extremist, died at the age of 47 in an Arctic prison in February after being sentenced to long prison terms on charges of fraud and extremism according to him, the West, and its supporters were politically motivated.

Yulia Navalnaya herself lives outside Russia and has two children from Navalny. She accused President Putin of killing her husband. The Kremlin denies allegations that she thinks are baseless.

Navalnaya said that after her husband's death, she wanted to continue her husband's work and since then have met with world leaders, proposing sanctions that she believes will accelerate the end of Russia's current political system.

Separately, authorities in Russia have so far not designated Navalnaya as a "foreign agent", a label they use to try to stigmatize other opponents.

The Kremlin also rarely comments on it, stating its presence outside Russia means it is not in touch with the Russians and the pulse of its own country, an idea that Navalnaya rejects.