Yulia Navalnaya, the spouse of the deceased Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, has revealed that international laboratory examinations on samples obtained from her husband confirmed that he was poisoned. Navalny, aged 47, passed away unexpectedly on February 16, 2024, while in a Russian penitentiary in the Arctic region, resulting in the loss of a prominent and well-liked opposition leader.
Despite Yulia’s persistent allegations that Russia was involved in his death, the Kremlin has consistently dismissed these claims as baseless. In a video shared online, Yulia disclosed that biological material from Navalny was clandestinely taken out of the country in 2024 for analysis by two foreign laboratories. Both facilities concluded that Alexei had been deliberately poisoned, as stated by Navalnaya.
She urged the laboratories to disclose their findings regarding what she referred to as the “inconvenient truth,” without specifying the exact poison identified by the labs. Last year, Navalnaya rejected the Russian investigative report that Navalny succumbed to “a combination of diseases.”
Navalny had previously survived a poisoning incident in 2020 when he fell severely ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Following an emergency landing and medical treatment in Berlin, it was revealed that he was exposed to Novichok, a Soviet-developed nerve agent, through German military tests.
Former lawyer Navalny gained prominence for his blogs exposing widespread corruption within the Russian elite and ridiculing the lavish lifestyles of President Putin’s inner circle. He faced numerous detentions for organizing public demonstrations and was repetitively prosecuted on corruption-related charges, which he alleged were politically motivated.
Despite Navalny’s demise, Russian authorities have continued to target his supporters and allies, branding many as “foreign agents” or “extremists.” Navalnaya, who resides outside Russia, has been under a Russian arrest warrant since the previous year on alleged extremist grounds.
In January, three legal representatives of Navalny were convicted of association with an extremist organization, receiving sentences of up to five and a half years in a penal institution. Additionally, in April, four journalists were each sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of collaborating with Navalny’s outlawed group.