Watch Yulia Navalnaya address European Parliament after husband's death

1. Who is Yulia Navalnaya?

   

   EPACopyright: EPA

   Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia has emerged as a major figure in Russia's oppositionImage caption: Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia has emerged as a major figure in Russia's opposition

   Yulia Navalnaya was born in Moscow in 1976, the daughter of respected scientist Boris Ambrosimov.

   An economics graduate, she had a career in banking but gave up her job to bring up their two children when Alexei rose to prominence as an opposition politician.

   They met on holiday in Turkey in 1998 and married two years later.

   Navalnaya kept a low profile for much of their relationship, insisting that her main role was as a wife and mother not a politician.

   She was, however, thrust into the limelight following Navalny's poisoning in 2020 when she became a de-facto spokeswoman for her husband.

   She has been described as the "First Lady" of the Russian opposition and Navalny himself said he could not continue his fight against the Kremlin without her.

   Following his death, she delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference, where she appealed for justice for her husband's death and vowed to continue his work to fight for a "free Russia".

2. Who was Alexei Navalny?

   Alexei Navalny was a political activist and perhaps Putin’s most famous critic.

   For more than a decade, he exposed corruption at the heart of Russian power and his video investigations received tens of millions of views online

   A charismatic campaigner, Navalny set up a network of regional campaign offices, having planned to run for president in 2018, but was barred from the vote.

   In 2020, he was poisoned in Siberia by what Western laboratories later confirmed to be a nerve agent.

   He was treated abroad but then returned to Russia in January 2021, whereupon he was immediately arrested and then jailed on politically-motivated charges.

   He died on 16 February in prison in Siberia, where he was being held in harsh conditions on a lengthy prison sentence.

   

   ReutersCopyright: Reuters

   Alexei Navalny taking part in a rally in Moscow in 2020Image caption: Alexei Navalny taking part in a rally in Moscow in 2020

3. Yulia Navalnaya to address European Parliament

   Barbara Tasch

   Live reporter

   Good morning and thank you for joining us.

   In the next hour, Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s widow, is set to address the European Parliament to talk about the situation of political prisoners in Russia.

   Navalny, a leading opposition figure in Russia and an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, died in the Siberian penal colony he was being held in on 16 February.

   Navalnaya has been urging Western leaders to seek justice for her husband's death and has has vowed to continue his work to fight for a "free Russia".

   The European Parliament will also discuss threats to the international rules-based order and the need to reinforce the EU’s security and defence.

   Stay with us as we bring you the latest lines, analysis and reaction.