Voted invalidly herself

Navalnaya: “Putin is not our president”

Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

(Bild: AP)

The widow of deceased Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has called for the re-election of Russian President Vladimir Putin not to be recognized. "Putin is not our president," she said in a video released on Tuesday.

She herself had cast an invalid ballot in the presidential election at the embassy in Berlin on Sunday (see video above). Yulia Navalnaya wrote the name of her deceased husband on it. He once wanted to become Russian president himself. "We will make sure that no one in the world recognizes Putin as a legitimate president, that no one sits down at the negotiating table with him," said Navalnaya.

We will make sure that no one in the world recognizes Putin as a legitimate president, that no one sits down at the negotiating table with him.

Julia Nawalnaja, Witwe von Nawalny

Money for the army and propaganda
The Kremlin had already accused Navalnaya, who is also protesting against Putin at EU level, of losing her Russian roots. The 47-year-old announced that she would continue her husband's opposition work in exile. The "Putin mafia" must be fought like an organized crime organization, she said. Putin's people had stolen billions to buy large houses and yachts. The government spends money on the army and propaganda, but not on improving people's lives.

Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

(Bild: AP)

Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova complained on Tuesday that the opposition had tried to stir up anti-Russian hysteria around the embassy in Berlin. The Russian voters in the embassy were to be intimidated. "But Putin won the elections there too." The central election commission had awarded the ruler more than 87 percent of the vote. His fifth term in office will last another six years.

Golos: "Unprecedented manipulation"
Independent Russian election observers from the Golos organization stated that the result had been achieved through unprecedented manipulation. More than 34 million of the votes for Putin were questionable. Officially, 76 million votes were cast for the politician.