Russian activists abroad pin hopes on Yulia Navalnaya

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, takes part in a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman/Pool

TBILISI (Reuters) - Like many other young Russians, Anastasia Panchenko's political awakening came courtesy of Alexei Navalny. Left reeling by his sudden death, she is looking now to his widow Yulia to take on the mantle of Russian opposition leader.

Since Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony last Friday, Panchenko has been coming most days to lay flowers at an impromptu memorial to him in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital she has called home since fleeing Russia in 2021.