Two and a half months ago, Alexei Navalny, the best-known Russian opposition politician, died. His widow speaks at the 53rd HSG symposium. Gently – and very determined.
“Do you often wonder what Alexei would do?” asks the journalist. Julia Navalnaya looks at him, slightly irritated, sits up and looks at the audience. Now she grins: “Not really, no.”
The people in the room laugh. The answer is surprising. And at the same time appears authentic. «Where would I end up if I did that? I would have to question every step I take,” says Yulia Navalnaya. “I have to make my own decisions now.”
Early on Friday evening, Julia Navalnaya will appear in St. Gallen at the 53rd Symposium at the University of St. Gallen. The conference is organized annually by HSG students. The idea: promote exchange between generations. In business, science, politics, society. You could call it the student version of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
That’s why we generously invite: CEOs, ministers from all over the world, federal councilors. This year Wladimir Klitschko was there, professional boxer and twin brother of Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko. Also: Carsten Spohr, CEO of the Lufthansa Group, Singapore’s Trade Minister Tan See Leng, Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter. These days, the University of St. Gallen looks more like a first-class lounge at the airport than a training facility: blue carpet, bars, ice sculptures. People in suits bustle around, tagging themselves in LinkedIn posts, drinking white wine.
And then suddenly there is Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, the best-known Russian opposition politician. She glides through this crowd on the way to the hall where she is performing. She wears a simple, blue two-piece suit, little jewelry, subtle make-up, her hair combed back. A style that fits the seriousness of her life, as the New York Times recently wrote. But he doesn’t really suit this event.
Symbol of opposition
It has been two and a half months since Yulia Navalnaya lost her husband. She was also at a conference there, and she was on a stage there too. Navalnaya was attending the Munich Security Conference when news of Alexei Navalny’s death reached her on February 16. She read the breaking news on her smartphone. “Like all of you,” she says in St. Gallen. Alexei Navalny was in Russian captivity at the time of his death.
Back then, in Munich, Julia Navalnaya appeared before this huge gathering of international security experts, strong and composed: “I thought for a moment whether I should stand here in front of you or with my children.” Then she let herself be guided by Alexei, by what he would have done. She said, “I’m sure Alexei would be standing here.”
Three days after the news of Alexei Navalny’s death, Yulia Navalnaya posted a nine-minute video on her husband’s YouTube channel. She said she would continue his work. Since then, Navalnaya has had a new role. She supported him for twenty years, never left his side, and was an integral part of Navalny’s team. Nevertheless, she remained in the background. At 47, she has now become his successor, the symbol of his legacy. How does she live up to this expectation?
Julia Navalnaya in St. Gallen cannot answer this question. Of course not. You don’t answer a question like this with short speeches or conversations with journalists in front of the assembled business elite, you answer it with actions. But what Navalnaya demonstrates in St. Gallen: She is there. And she wants to be heard.
Gentle and determined
She makes the audience laugh several times and speaks spontaneously and with irony. Alexei and she were not just spouses, she says. “We were partners in crime. So, don’t get me wrong, ‘in good crime’.” Julia Navalnaya also makes demands. Western sanctions are not enough, she says. Putin’s inner circle has not yet been reached. And turns to the boys. Putin is trying to keep young people away from politics. You have to fight against that.
A few weeks ago, Time Magazine named Navalnaya one of the hundred most influential people in the world. American Vice President Kamala Harris wrote in a guest article for the magazine that Navalnaya is showing exceptional strength and selflessness in her new role.
And that’s how she appears in St. Gallen. Turkish journalist and presenter Ali Aslan, who is on stage with her, asks where she gets her strength from. And how she knew she was doing the right thing. Navalnaya rejects all of this. Or would you even have to say: is it dismissive?
She speaks softly – and very firmly. Make it clear: She never asked herself the question of whether she was ready to succeed her husband. She knew it had to happen like this. That it is the right thing to do. It was never about her as a person, but rather about the big goal: resistance against Putin. The journalist asks at the end whether she is afraid. Julia Navalnaya says: “I don’t think about that.”