In 2011, Navalny founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation, through which he conducted anti-corruption investigations on state companies and senior government officials. In 2013, he came in second in Moscow’s mayoral election, and in 2018, he campaigned — but was illegally disqualified from appearing on the ballot — for the presidential election.
Due to his efforts to expose corruption and challenge Putin’s authoritarian rule, Navalny faced imprisonment and assassination attempts. In 2019, he was imprisoned under politically motivated charges of “violating protest laws” after calling for peaceful demonstrations in response to fraudulent city council elections. In August 2020, he survived an assassination attempt after secret police agents poisoned him with a nerve agent. After recovering in Germany, Navalny courageously returned to Russia, where he was immediately arrested and subsequently sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of “extremism.”
In July, HRF elected Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, as its new chair. Like her husband, Navalnaya is renowned for her unwavering commitment to democratic principles and human rights — and to living out her husband’s legacy.