Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the opposition chief Aleksei A. Navalny, lined up with voters exterior the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday, in one in all her few public appearances since her husband’s dying final month.
Ms. Navalnaya has vowed to hold on her husband’s work. Her presence on the embassy on Sunday to vote in Russia’s presidential election gave the impression to be following one in all Mr. Navalny’s final political exhortations earlier than he died: Endorsing one other activist’s name for opponents of President Vladimir V. Putin to indicate up on the polls on Sunday at midday native time.
Ms. Navalnaya declined to remark to reporters whereas standing within the mile-long line, flanked by her husband’s longtime spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh. However she hugged and took images with supporters who approached her, a few of them in tears.
After about six hours of ready, Ms. Navalnaya emerged from the Russian Embassy. She advised reporters that she had written in “Navalny” on her poll.
By 1 p.m., the road of voters stretched for almost a mile by means of central Berlin, ending simply previous an indication marking the situation of Hitler’s World Conflict II bunker. A number of folks ready to forged ballots mentioned they deliberate to vote for anybody apart from Mr. Putin — though the options had been Kremlin-approved candidates — or to write down in Mr. Navalny’s identify.
Yulia Lozovskaya, 29, who moved to Germany from St. Petersburg after Mr. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, was one in all many who sought out Ms. Navalnaya after studying on social media that she was standing someplace within the line.
“You are feeling you’re not alone,” Ms. Lozovskaya mentioned, referring to the dimensions of the group. “And that offers huge energy.”
