Without Navalny, 'hope dies' for opposition in Russia's dangerous political landscape

As news of her husband's death shot through the halls of the Munich Security Conference Friday, a composed Yulia Navalnaya took the stage.

She said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be punished for what he's "done to our country, to my family and to my husband."

And then, with the confident voice of a woman used to speaking out, she called for Russian and Western support in opposing Putin.

"We should come together and we should fight against this evil," Navalnaya said. "We should fight this horrific regime in Russia today."

The crowd of diplomats and political leaders gave her a standing ovation.

For more than two decades, she has stood by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's side, raising their two children but rarely positioning herself as an independent political figure, despite once being called "the first lady of the Russian opposition" in a Moscow women's magazine.

WATCH | Navalnaya speaks during the Munich Security Conference on Friday:

'We can't believe Putin,' says Navalny's wife after Russian dissident's reported death

7 months ago

Duration 1:41

Alexei Navalny's wife, Yulia, said Friday she doesn't yet know if her husband is dead, because Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'always lying.' But if it is true, she wants the world to come together against Putin's government.

Hints of a successor emerge

But now, watching from Canada, Maria Popova, an associate professor of political science at McGill University, says she saw hints of Navalny's political successor.

"She sounded like she's taking the baton and may be ready to lead the organization," Popova said.

WATCH | Navalny's death is shocking, but not a surprise, expert says:

'Shocking' but not surprising: Expert reacts to Navalny's reported death

7 months ago

Duration 2:35

Maria Popova, an associate professor of political science at McGill University, says Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'emboldened' in his assault on Ukraine and does not seem concerned about instability ahead of a Russian election.

Maybe, she said, Navalny's death means his movement hasn't been "decapitated" after all, given the network of committed activists who helped him in dozens of offices across Russia and with his online campaigns.

Still, she points out that with only 10-20 per cent of Russians ready to question Putin's leadership, Navalnaya would face the same challenges and risks her husband did.

Indeed, the political landscape for any opposition to Putin's iron grip is bleak.

All anti-Kremlin candidates have been blocked from running against him in next month's presidential election. Over the years, other challengers have been killed.

Outspoken critic Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on a Moscow bridge in 2015. He was a physicist turned liberal politician who attacked Putin's leadership for its authoritarianism and corruption.

Last year, mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died in a plane crash after leading a one-day armed mutiny against Putin's military, an act the Russian president called "treason" and vowed to punish.

Numerous other critics have been gunned down, poisoned or killed in mysterious falls.

Navalny's persistent opposition and his return to Russia in 2020 after an attempted poisoning shows rare "stamina and guts" and "balls of Iron," said Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat at the UN who defected in 2022.

One other opposition figure, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has promised some kind of "response on the streets of Moscow on election day or on the day of Alexei Navalny's funeral."

WATCH | The moments that made Navalny Putin's biggest political foe:

Navalny vs. Putin: The moments that mattered | About That

7 months ago

Duration 8:35

Russian opposition leader and vocal Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny died in prison, according to Russian officials. About That producer Lauren Bird examines the moments that made him a famous anti-corruption activist and political adversary of Vladimir Putin.

Hopes for 'real opposition' fade

But Russians see no obvious successor in the country's small opposition movement.

Maya Bagriantseva is a former Moscow journalist who joined a protest following Navalny's death in front of the Russian embassy in Riga.

"The bad thing is, there is almost no political power left that can serve as opposition, as a real opposition, to the current leaders," she said. "I don't see any positive things at the moment."

There were similar feelings on the streets of Moscow, among the few who dared speak out in an atmosphere where police pounced on anyone who looked like they were ready to protest or even mention Navalny's death.

"Navalny was that symbol of hope. With his death, hope dies," said Valeria, a 23 year-old tour guide. "If there had been any hope left, it is even less now."

Widely seen as "the leader" of a fractured collection of opposition organizations, many agree Navalany was "one of a kind," said Natia Seskuria, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

Still, others argue Navalny's status was always much greater when viewed from abroad by dissidents, opposition groups and Western leaders like U.S. President Joe Biden, who called him a "powerful voice of truth" who stood up to "Putin's brutality."

"These groups will now be left with this symbol," said analyst Keir Giles, author of Russia's War on Everybody.

Inside the country it makes little difference, he said, "because Russia has long ago already moved from controlling the opposition to actually eliminating it."

Navalny's death, Giles says, is simply the Kremlin's latest move to do so.

WATCH | A message from beyond the grave:

What Navalny wanted supporters to do if he died: Get back to work

7 months ago

Duration 7:51

In Daniel Rohers documentary, Alexei Navalny told his supporters his death would be a sign of the oppositions strength. The Canadian director told The Nationals Ian Hanomansing Navalny would want his supporters not to mourn his death, but fight Russian President Vladimir Putin.