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The widow of Aleksei A. Navalny said on Monday that she would carry on her husband\u2019s work to bring about a democratic and free Russia, presenting herself for the first time as a political force and calling on his followers to rally alongside her.<\/p>\n
Mr. Navalny\u2019s sudden death in prison, which was announced by the Russian authorities on Friday, left a vacuum in Russia\u2019s opposition. His supporters had wondered whether his wife, Yulia Navalnaya \u2014 who long shunned the spotlight \u2014 might step in to fill the void.<\/p>\n
In a video released on Monday<\/a>, Ms. Navalnaya, 47, signaled that she would. She said she was appearing on her late husband\u2019s YouTube channel for the first time to tell his followers that the most important thing that they could do to honor his legacy was \u201cto fight more desperately and furiously than before.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI am going to continue the work of Aleksei Navalny and continue to fight for our country,\u201d Ms. Navalnaya said. \u201cI call on you to stand beside me, to share not only in the grief and endless pain that has enveloped us and won\u2019t let go. I ask you to share my rage \u2014 to share my rage, anger and hatred of those who have dared to kill our future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The nearly nine-minute video was crafted as an introduction of sorts to a new leader of the pro-democracy movement against President Vladimir V. Putin. It comes at a time when those opposed to the Kremlin strongman, who have sought to unite, feel more dispirited than ever.<\/p>\n Ms. Navalnaya had often pushed back against suggestions that she enter politics, telling<\/a> Germany\u2019s Der Spiegel magazine last year that \u201cI don\u2019t think this is an idea I want to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, she presented a different face in trying to rally her husband\u2019s followers.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it feels impossible to do any more, but we have to \u2014 to come together in one strong fist and strike with it at this maddened regime, at Putin, at his friends and his bandits in uniform, at these thieves and killers who have crippled our country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The cause of Mr. Navalny\u2019s death<\/a> has not been established, and its circumstances have raised suspicions. President Biden blamed Mr. Putin personally, saying, \u201cMake no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ms. Navalnaya echoed that sentiment, which is shared by many of her husband\u2019s supporters, on Monday in her video.<\/p>\n \u201cIn killing Aleksei, Putin killed half of me, half of my heart and half of my soul,\u201d Ms. Navalnaya, Mr. Navalny\u2019s widow, said. \u201cBut I have another half left and it is telling me I have no right to give up.\u201d<\/p>\n Her rousing message came as Mr. Navalny\u2019s aides said that the opposition leader\u2019s mother remained blocked from seeing her son\u2019s body. Mr. Navalny\u2019s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said<\/a> the authorities had told his mother that the investigation into his death \u201chas been extended\u201d for an uncertain amount of time \u2014 and blocked her from seeing her son\u2019s body.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the lawyers was literally pushed out\u201d from the morgue in the Arctic where Mr. Navalny\u2019s body is believed to be, Ms. Yarmysh said in a post<\/a> on the social media platform X. She added in another post<\/a>, \u201cThey lie, buy time for themselves and do not even hide it.\u201d<\/p>\n Russian investigators initiated an inquiry into the causes of Mr. Navalny\u2019s death shortly after it was reported, a procedural move that allows them to hold the body for longer than normal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Mr. Navalny\u2019s anti-corruption Foundation, said that the delay meant that Russian officials were \u201ccleaning up traces of their crime.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are waiting for the wave of hatred and rage toward them to calm down,\u201d Mr. Zhdanov said in a post<\/a> on Telegram, the messaging app.<\/p>\n The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, rejected any suggestion of impropriety on Monday, saying that the investigation into Mr. Navalny\u2019s death has been continuing \u201cin accordance with the Russian law.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 50,000 people have signed<\/a> a petition to Russian investigators demanding the release of Mr. Navalny\u2019s body, a campaign initiated by a Russia-based human rights group, OVD-Info.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mourners have brought flowers to makeshift memorials across Russia, paying tribute to Mr. Navalny with an act of grief that has also served as a form of protest<\/a> in a country where even the mildest dissent can risk detention.<\/p>\n The Russian authorities have tried to tamp down the scale of public mourning over Mr. Navalny\u2019s death. Flowers have been quickly removed from memorials and the police have detained hundreds of people.<\/a><\/p>\n Anton Troianovski contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n