“Do not recognize the results of the falsified elections, do not recognize Putin as the legitimate president of Russia,” Yulia Navalnaya stated.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny – who died in mid-February in an Arctic prison – called on the international community not to recognize the results of Russia’s elections, scheduled for this weekend, in which President Vladimir Putin emerges as the main favorite due to the absence of opposition alternatives.
“I appeal to Western political leaders to assist all Russian citizens who oppose Putin’s regime. I urge them to finally listen to the voice of free Russia and take a principled stance against it. Do not recognize the results of the falsified elections, do not recognize Putin as the legitimate president of Russia,” she stated.
Navalnaya published an opinion column in The Washington Post on Wednesday, acknowledging that she has never had political aspirations but stating that her husband’s death in custody, which she directly blames Putin for, leaves her no other choice. “Therefore, I want to convey some important things that Alexei has been trying to say all these years,” she began.
According to Navalnaya, “to defeat Putin,” it is necessary to recognize that “he is not a politician, he is a gangster” who, along with his allies, has “taken and used power solely for his own enrichment and to fulfill his personal ambitions.”
“Putin is not a politician, he is a gangster. Alexei Navalny became famous in Russia and hated by Putin precisely because, from the beginning of his struggle, he openly described Putin and his allies as gangsters who had taken and used power for their own enrichment and personal ambitions,” Navalnaya pointed out, urging the West not to be deceived by the Russian leader.
According to Navalny’s wife, Putin’s speeches on religion, history, culture, and politics “might deceive” the West, but in reality, the Russian president has reached such a level of power in the country that he “can declare himself the legitimate president or even crown himself the heir of the czars.”
“Why do democratic countries continue to recognize his criminal authority? Why do fairly elected world leaders put themselves on the same level as a criminal who for decades has falsified elections, killed, imprisoned, or expelled all his critics, and now has unleashed a bloody war in Europe by attacking Ukraine?” Navalnaya questioned.
It is at this point that the prominent opposition widow advocated not recognizing the weekend’s election results as an “important signal to the world” that Russia “is not governed by a president recognized by all,” thus making those loyal to the president understand that “the only way to return to normal economic and political life is to get rid of him.”
“Deprive gangsters of their wealth, and they will lose loyalty to their leader,” suggested Navalnaya, implying that imposing international sanctions against Putin could lead his allies to lose confidence in him, deepening internal divisions and “ultimately, leading to the collapse of the regime.”
Furthermore, Navalnaya asserted that supporting Ukraine, invaded by Russia since late February 2022 by Putin’s order, became “the natural moral choice” of Western powers, and a defeat of Russia would leave Putin’s government “on the brink of collapse,” but it must be accompanied by support for “the forces that continue to resist” within the country.
“Do not believe that everyone in Russia supports Putin and his war. Russia is under a harsh dictatorship. The number of political prisoners in Russia is three times higher than during the Soviet system’s fight against dissenters. Human rights are being trampled, and there is no freedom of expression or protest,” she recounted.
However, Navalnaya highlighted the resistance of Putin’s opponents, who even in these “difficult” circumstances have found “ways to manifest against the repressive regime,” and “any opportunity to legally express discontent turns into a massive protest.”
In fact, Navalnaya took the opportunity to highlight what happened with her husband’s funeral, which despite the obstacles from Russian authorities, was finally held in Moscow with the participation of “thousands of people who visited his grave and covered it with flowers” at the risk of possible persecution by Putin’s regime.
Finally, Navalny’s wife endorsed one of her husband’s last proposals, who before his death urged the population to concentrate on the so-called ‘Noon against Putin,’ a protest in front of polling stations on Sunday, March 17, aimed at presenting the world with an image of opposition to the president.
“The goal is not to influence the election results, which will be falsified anyway, and it is not to support any of Putin’s puppets allowed on the ballot. Alexei wanted this to be a nationwide protest, emphasizing the illegitimacy of Putin’s election and the resistance of Russian civil society,” she concluded.
