HRF Chair Yulia Navalnaya appeared on _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
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Press Release
Oct 23, 2024

HRF Chair Yulia Navalnaya appeared on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’

NEW YORK (Oct. 23, 2024) тАФ Yulia Navalnaya, Chair of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), appeared on тАЬThe Late Show with Stephen ColbertтАЭ on Monday to discuss the release of тАЬPatriot,тАЭ a memoir written by her late husband, Alexei Navalny. Navalny, a prominent Russian dissident and opposition leader, was murdered on Feb. 16 while serving an unlawful 19-year prison sentence at the тАЬPolar WolfтАЭ penal colony in RussiaтАЩs Arctic Circle.

Navalny began writing тАЬPatriot,тАЭ released on Oct. 22, shortly after his near-fatal poisoning in 2020. The book is described as his тАЬfinal letter to the world: a moving account of his last years spent in the most brutal prison on earth; a reminder of why the principles of individual freedom matter so deeply; and a rousing call to continue the work for which he sacrificed his life.тАЭ

Known for his outspoken criticism of RussiaтАЩs authoritarian regime, Navalny was one of the leading voices challenging Vladimir PutinтАЩs dictatorship. In 2022, TIME Magazine dubbed him тАЬThe Man Putin Fears.тАЭ

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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 MoscowтАЩs mayoral election, and in 2018, he campaigned тАФ but was illegally disqualified from appearing on the ballot тАФ for the presidential election.

Due to his efforts  to expose corruption and challenge PutinтАЩs authoritarian rule, Navalny faced imprisonment and assassination attempts. In 2019, he was imprisoned under politically motivated charges of тАЬviolating protest lawsтАЭ 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 тАЬextremism.тАЭ

In July, HRF elected Yulia Navalnaya, NavalnyтАЩs widow, as its new chair. Like her husband, Navalnaya is renowned for her unwavering commitment to democratic principles and human rights тАФ and to living out her husbandтАЩs legacy.


The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.

For further information about HRFтАЩs impact litigation program, please email [email protected].For interview requests, please email [email protected].

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