Navalny's wife makes dramatic appearance after reports of his death

Just hours after her husband was reported dead, Yulia Navalnaya made a dramatic, surprise appearance at a meeting of world leaders in Munich on Friday. On stage, she denounced President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and promised that he and his circle “will be brought to justice.”

Diplomats and political leaders at the Munich Security Conference were already reeling from reports that her husband, Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian dissident, had died in prison under suspicious circumstances when Mrs. Navalny stunned the audience by stepping inside. The conference organizers arrived quickly. started a session with Vice President Kamala Harris and handed the microphone to Ms Navalnaya.

“We cannot believe Putin and his government,” Ms Navalnaya told the crowd. “They lie all the time. But if it is true, I would like Putin and all his staff, everyone around him, his government, his friends, I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done to our country, to my family and With my husband. . They will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon.”

Ms. Navalnaya spoke clearly and calmly, with remarkable composure, her face marked by obvious pain but under complete control. Standing at the lectern, she folded her hands in front of her and stared straight ahead as if to concentrate on her message.

The audience was captivated and gave her an emotional standing ovation afterwards.

In the annals of international meetings, it would be difficult to recall a more compelling moment, when the careful scripts of government leaders laden with diplomatic jargon fall to the wayside as questions of life and death play out so intensely before them.

The conference was already focused on security threats from Russia, and Friday's news added new urgency to the meeting.

Ms Navalnaya had come to Munich with Leonid Volkov, her husband's chief of staff, to keep world leaders focused on her husband's cause and Putin's government's suppression of dissent. On Thursday evening, she met with conference participants, who described conversations hoping for better days.

Ms. Harris discussed reports of Mr. Navalny's death at the start of her speech at the conference, offering her condolences to Ms. Navalnaya and saying Washington was still gathering information. “If confirmed,” Ms. Harris said, “it would be a further sign of Putin's brazenness. Whatever story they tell, be clear: Russia is responsible, and we will have more to say about this later.”

Over the years, Mr. Navalny's near death from poisoning and his long prison sentences left many Russians hoping that Ms. Navalnaya could step in and become an alternative leading figure in the opposition. She has always objected.

Although she speaks out fiercely in defense of her husband and is critical of the many forms of oppression he faced, she has never ventured directly into opposition politics – and has rarely, if ever, stood on a stage as in Munich.

During Mr Navalny's time in Germany, where he was treated after a poisoning in 2020, she remained private, only occasionally posting photos of them together during his treatment and recovery, but never speaking publicly.

However, last year she became known to millions of people around the world when she appeared at the Academy Awards ceremony, where the documentary 'Navalny' won an Oscar. In an interview afterwards with Der Spiegelthe German news channel, expressed concerns about her husband's health in prison and lamented that she might never see him in person again.

“We all understand that it is Putin personally who is keeping Aleksei in prison,” she said at the time, “and as long as he remains in power, it is difficult to imagine that Aleksei will be released.”

Mr Navalny had continued to post on social media from prison, relaying messages to his visiting lawyers. His most recent Instagram post was on Wednesday – Valentine's Day – and it was a message to Yulia: We may be separated by “blue blizzards and thousands of miles,” he wrote, “but I feel like you are with me every second, and I even love you to hold. more.”

Anton Trojanovsky And Melissa Eddy reporting contributed.