Ukrainian intelligence: Russia plans to conscript Ukrainian civilians from occupied regions
The family of Russian dissident Alexey Navalny has always supported his efforts to combat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s corrupt leadership. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and their children, Dasha and Zakhar, have had to watch Navalny face arrests, violence, and even an attack on his own life.
In August 2020, Navalny’s family got the call that he had taken ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow and was undergoing treatment.
“To have your dad, an opposition leader, being poisoned by we don’t know what, we don’t know how, we don’t know when, and just be in a random hospital, it was just … it was surreal, it was literally like a book,” Dasha said.
Yulia Navalnaya quickly made her way to the hospital where Navalny was being treated and began putting public and international pressure on the Russian government to allow him to be medically evacuated to Germany.
She described the fear she had when she first arrived at the hospital and was physically barred from seeing her husband. “I thought since he was all alone, the [Federal Security Service] and Putin would make the most of the situation and try to make sure he’s dead.”
Her efforts to secure his release, which included sending a personal letter to Putin himself, eventually paid off – and may have saved Navalny’s life. His sudden illness was later tied to exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.
After a long recovery in Germany, Navalny announced that he would return to Russia in January 2020. His family once again faced the possibility of losing him, this time to arrest and detainment, but they understood that Navalny’s mission was more important than their worry.
“There was a point a year ago, where my dad was almost not there for my high school graduation. He was in jail once again and, like, the whole day I was just thinking about how [he] would’ve been proud to see me walk on the stage and get my certificate. And he wouldn’t get that option, because he was in jail for doing the right thing,” Dasha said before her father made his return to Russia. “I know that my dad misses Russia, even though it’s scary to go back. And if he didn’t go back, I would say you need to go back and fight. It’s something worth fighting for.”
Navalny was immediately arrested after his plane landed in Moscow, and he has been a prisoner ever since. In March, he was sentenced to another nine years in jail after being convicted on fraud charges, according to the Russian-owned state news agency TASS.
The director of the CNN film “Navalny,” Daniel Roher, who spent time with the entire family while following Navalny’s story for the film, described how their support allows Navalny to continue with his mission.
“It is like the entire family has this iron spine, their character is extraordinary, and I think … the foundation for his strength is the strength of his extraordinary wife Yulia and their children,” Roher said. “Everyone believes in what he’s doing, and everyone supports the sacrifice that he’s making.
Although they have faced violence and harassment of their own, Navalny’s family continues to support his anti-corruption message, and they express their pride in his accomplishments.
Dasha wrote on Instagram: “I am very proud of my dad, and I am glad that his incredible story of the last few years will be told.”
Tune in tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET to watch the CNN Film “Navalny” on CNN.
