In a bold call to action, Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has rallied Russians to join nationwide protests on election day, March 17. Urging citizens to cast their votes against President Vladimir Putin or spoil their ballots, Navalnaya emerges as a prominent voice in challenging the status quo.
Alexei Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya has hit out at Vladimir Putin once again in her latest address to the people of Russia. The widow of Navalny has demanded strict action and accountability for the deeds conducted by the Russian President. Navalnaya levied murder accusations against Putin after the death of her husband.
Yulia Navalnaya called for action against the Russian President through an election day protest. She urged Russians to come out in large numbers on the election day which is March 17 and hold massive protests across the country. Yulia Navalnaya also asked the people of Russia to not vote for Vladimir Putin.
She said, “We need to use election day to show that we exist and there are many of us. We are real, living people, and we are against Putin. You need to come to the voting station on the same day and at the same time - March 17 at noon.
What to do next? The choice is yours. You can vote for any candidate except Putin. You can ruin the ballot, you can write 'Navalny' in big letters on it. And even if you don’t see the point in voting at all, you can just come and stand at the polling station, and then turn around and go home.”
Yulia Navalnaya made the statements after witnessing a massive crowd in Russia’s Moscow for the funeral of Alexei Navalny last week. People came out in hundreds to bid adieu to Navalny risking action from the Kremlin. The Russian government had already given warning to people assembling in Moscow.
Many political experts in the West believe that Yulia Navalnaya could take over the reigns of Alexei Navalny and work towards the causes Navalny fought for. This includes mobilizing people for the establishment of democracy in Russia and simultaneously ending the authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin.