Yulia Navalnaya Elected as Head of the 'Human Rights Foundation'

Following the death of Alexei Navalny, many of his supporters are looking to Yulia Navalnaya with the question of whether she can unite and lead the opposition in Russia. By accepting the position of president of the 'Human Rights Foundation,' she has emphasized that she will continue the work of her husband, Alexei Navalny, in this role. The question remains how much she will play a role in uniting and leading the opposition. Yulia Navalnaya's political background: Alexei and Yulia married in 2000 and both joined the 'Yabloko' party, which was considered a liberal-democratic party, the same year Vladimir Putin became President of Russia. From the beginning of Alexei Navalny's political activities, the late leader of the Russian opposition, his wife Yulia was alongside him and at one point was his assistant and secretary. She always showed in her behavior and speech that she was Alexei's right hand but was not seeking an independent role in politics. Many of Alexei Navalny's supporters viewed Yulia as the First Lady. Yulia Navalnaya at protests in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin in late March last year: Yulia Navalnaya called for an investigation into the money transfer network linked to Putin. However, after Alexei faced legal prosecution and increasing pressure from the government, especially following his poisoning with a nerve agent in the summer of 2020 and Yulia's public message to Vladimir Putin demanding her husband's transfer to Germany for treatment, Yulia Navalnaya became almost as much in the spotlight as her husband. According to a Russian political analyst, following the assassination attempt on Alexei, Yulia 'transformed from the wife of a politician into a politician herself.' After Alexei Navalny's death, Yulia called Vladimir Putin a 'murderer' and announced that she would continue her husband's work. Last spring, she was selected as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine, received the Deutsche Welle Award for 'Freedom of Expression,' and the Weimar Press Group's 'Media Freedom' award, as well as the Dresden Peace Prize awarded to her, her late husband, and the 'Anti-Corruption Foundation.' She is the head of the supervisory council of the 'Anti-Corruption Foundation,' which has now moved its office outside of Russia, and will take over the presidency of the 'Human Rights Foundation' from early July. What do we know about the 'Human Rights Foundation'? The 'Human Rights Foundation' is a non-profit organization that declares its goal to be 'fighting against tyranny and totalitarianism and promoting and developing human rights worldwide, especially in non-democratic societies.' This organization was founded in 2005 by Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, a Venezuelan filmmaker and human rights advocate, and its office is in New York. The organization holds the 'Oslo Freedom Forum' annually in the capital of Norway. Before Yulia Navalnaya's election to this position, Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion and another prominent figure in the Russian opposition, held the presidency of the 'Human Rights Foundation' for 12 years. Kasparov announced that Yulia was his proposed candidate and is confident that she can accomplish significant work in this position. Navalnaya's presence in the European Parliament in late March last year to speak to European representatives. Yulia Navalnaya wrote on social media: 'As a witness to the threats of dictators around the world, I am honored to take on the presidency of the Human Rights Foundation. Supporting key rights and freedoms in these difficult times is more important than ever.' She also expressed hope that the experiences of the 'Human Rights Foundation' would be beneficial for the activities of the 'Anti-Corruption Foundation' and emphasized that 'we will use all available tools to fight Putin and realize Alexei's dreams for a bright future for Russia.' The status of the Russian opposition: Alexei Navalny, the most prominent political figure opposing Vladimir Putin, who faced multiple charges totaling 19 years in prison, died on February 16 at the age of 47. Two other prominent politicians, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, are imprisoned in Russia. Ilya Yashin, who spent his 40th birthday in solitary confinement last week, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for the fabricated crime of 'spreading false information about Russian military personnel.' Vladimir Kara-Murza, for his human rights advocacy, won the Vaclav Havel Award and, along with Iranian women and the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, received the House of Freedom award last year, and recently won the Pulitzer Prize for his writings from prison. However, in Russia, he has been sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason and spreading false information about the Russian army. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent imprisoned opponent of Putin, received the House of Freedom award last year along with the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement: 'Smart Voting'; a strategy for uniting opponents in Russia. According to the Memorial Human Rights Defender organization, 2,500 people are detained in Russia for political reasons, and 1,300 are imprisoned. A significant number of opponents of the Russian government reside abroad and have been declared 'foreign agents' in Russia and are often pursued legally. Some prominent figures, such as Boris Akunin, a well-known writer, and Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, have been declared terrorists by the Russian government. Repeated efforts to unite the Russian opposition have so far been unsuccessful. Recently, Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, expressed severe pessimism about the future of Russia and believes that the only way to change the current situation is for Russia to lose the war against Ukraine; a transformation that there is no complete certainty about.