Widow Of Russian Opposition Leader Alex Navalny Gains Over 261 Followers Two Days After Joining Elon Musk's X

The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, recently joined Elon Musk’s social network, X, and quickly amassed a significant following.

What Happened: Navalnaya, who recently joined X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, quickly gained over 261.3K followers.

She has pledged to continue her late husband’s fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, her account was briefly suspended, only to be reinstated shortly after. Navalnaya account was temporarily suspended on Tuesday, with X attributing the suspension to a mistake in its defense mechanism against manipulation and spam. The platform quickly rectified the error and reinstated Navalnaya’s account.

See Also: Donald Trump Sells $2.4M In ETH, ‘Dogecoin killer’ Shiba Inu Experiences Surge In Whale Inflows And More

Navalnaya’s video, in which she vowed to continue her husband’s opposition to Putin, garnered over 5.7 million views, as of later Tuesday. She also posted a plea from Alexei’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, to Putin, demanding the return of her son’s body.

Why It Matters: Navalny, a fierce critic of Putin, was known for his anti-corruption activism and large-scale anti-Kremlin protests. Navalny, a former lawyer, died after falling unconscious at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence. His death sparked protests across 32 Russian cities, leading to the detention of over 400 people by Russian authorities.

His widow, Navalnaya, has vowed to personally carry on the campaign against the Kremlin, Putin and the "bandits in shoulder straps," referring to his closest military and intelligence aides.

Meanwhile, the U.S. on Tuesday said it will announce a new package of sanctions against Russia following the death last week of the opposition leader. "At President Biden’s direction, we will be announcing a major sanctions package on Friday of this week to hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told the media.

Photo by Michał Siergiejevicz on Wikimedia Commons

Read Next:  Joe Biden Says Russian President ‘Responsible' For Critic Alexei Navalny's Mysterious Death: ‘Yet More Proof Of…Brutality'

This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.