Yulia Navalnaya, Russian political figure and widow of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is coming to the Edinburgh International Book Festival this August.
This will be one of many UK appearances Navalnaya has made since the imprisonment and death of her husband. His supporters believe that his death was suspicious, especially as it was one day before he was allegedly set to be freed in February 2024.
Navalnaya vowed to carry on her husband’s work, leading the Anti-Corruption Foundation that Navalny founded in 2011.
Classed as an “extremist group” in Russia, her work with the Anti-Corruption Foundation led to an order for her arrest in July 2024. This has made it impossible to re-enter Russia under Putin’s power.
She also ensured the posthumous release of his memoir Patriot in October 2024, which he wrote after being poisoned in 2020.
Despite this, she is committed to fighting Putin and told Katie Razzall in a BBC interview that she plans to run for Russian president, believing that there will be fair elections in the future.
It is Patriot that will bring her to the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Friday, August 22. The festival’s website states that she will also speak on “her determination to keep his campaigning and story alive”.
Further information on the event can be accessed here. Tickets go live on Tuesday, May 6, and can also be accessed on the festival website. Patriot will be available to purchase alongside tickets, or at the festival’s resident Waterstones store.
Some events may be livestreamed or available on demand, but the festival stated that more information will come soon.
Featured Image Credit: Edinburgh International Book Festival.