The name of the political and public figure Alexei Navalny in Russian society is associated with the scandalous reputation of the leader of the non-systemic opposition. The main fighter against corruption is the author of the popular blog in LiveJournal and the RosPil project.
early years
The future politician was born in 1976 in the town of Butyn, near Moscow, where his father served. In the 90s, my parents became the owners of a vine weaving factory. Today it is the business of the family, where Alexei, along with his parents and younger brother, owned 25% of the enterprise that he sold.
After graduating from a school near Moscow, Alexey continued his education at the Peoples' Friendship University. Five years later, the graduate lawyer entered the government academy to become a financial professional. After that, under the grant program, he attended a 6-month course at Yale University.
Businessman
Working biography of Navalny began in his student years. Having received his first experience in the legal service of Aeroflot, Alexey opened several of his own enterprises. Their scope of activity was quite wide, but all firms had one thing in common - they were with a zero balance. After a short existence, the creator of the companies sold them, receiving a good income. In the late 90s, the lawyer carried out work on currency control. In subsequent years, Alexey was involved in logistics, traded assets on the stock exchange and even hosted the radio station "Echo of Moscow".
In 2009, the lawyer confirmed the qualifications of a lawyer and registered Navalny and Partners LLC, however, the firm did not last long. In 2011, he received an order for the provision of legal services from the American Institute of Modern Russia, and joined Aeroflot's board of directors.
Politician
His political career began in the mid-2000s with active anti-corruption actions in the "Committee for the Protection of Muscovites", he participated in the "YES!" and "Police with the People", prepared "Political Debates" on television.
In 2007, Aleksey Anatolyevich established a new movement "People". Until that moment, he was listed in the Yabloko party and even was a member of the political council. At one of the meetings, he demanded the resignation of the leadership, for which he was expelled from the party ranks. The leader of the "Naroda" took part in the "Russian March" and called himself a "normal Russian nationalist", focusing not on the ethnic, but on the social component of the concept. The movement soon became part of the Russian National Movement, which disintegrated three years later. At the same time, the politician believed that the raised topic of interethnic conflicts is relevant for the state.
In 2011, the politician for the first time openly assessed the activities of United Russia, calling it a "party of crooks and thieves." Further, he repeatedly confirmed his own position, making publications on the Internet and speaking on the radio. Alexei urged Russians to vote “for any party,” but not for the ruling party, in the elections to the State Duma. He actively participated in rallies and protest processions in the Russian capital, after one of such events he was arrested for 15 days. However, in the future, the European Court recognized that human rights were violated, the victim received good compensation.
At the election of the head of the capital
Gradually, Navalny became the leader of the non-systemic opposition, the number of his supporters grew. In 2013, the politician proposed his candidacy for the post of the head of the capital, but with 27% of the votes he lost in the fight to Sergei Sobyanin.
In the same year, proceedings began in the Kirovles case, where Alexei was accused of embezzlement in this state-owned enterprise as an adviser to the head of the Kirov region. Timber products were sold at low prices, damaging the enterprise. The court ruled, setting a term of 5 years. In the cities of Russia, protests were held in defense of the famous politician, perhaps in this regard, the punishment was changed to a conditional one. This was followed by investigations into other cases: about the RosPila logo, the Yves Rocher case, the Allekt company, MPK LLC and others. The politician was arrested 10 times. In 2013, Alexey Anatolyevich was stripped of his lawyer status.
In the presidential elections
Since 2017, Navalny has actively urged the population to participate in protests against corruption in the country. The oppositionist was supported by 150 Russian cities, the number of participants was more than 90 thousand people, many were arrested. A great deal of work in this direction was carried out by the Anti-Corruption Fund, created by the politician. The non-profit organization united the projects "RosPil", "RosYama", "RosVybory", "RosZhKH". The involved experts conducted their own investigations in the field of illegal public procurement. Their work has resulted in films about crime in business. The main goal of the fund is to push the authorities to ensure transparency in the use of budget funds.
The politician has always had a special point of view regarding the events in Ukraine. The roots of his family remained there, he spent all summer school holidays with relatives near Kiev. That is why the topic of the life of a neighboring state does not leave him indifferent.
No one was surprised by Navalny's desire to run for the presidential elections in 2018. In record time, more than 700 thousand signatures were collected in support of the candidate, hundreds of volunteers worked, and donations were collected. We can say that Aleksey Anatolyevich was one of the few who organized a full-fledged campaign before the elections. But Navalny did not make it to the electoral lists, as another verdict in the Kirovles case came into effect. While in custody, the opposition leader continued to lead protests throughout the country. The Russian public was joined by European colleagues who expressed doubts about the democratic nature of the upcoming elections. Alexey was released in December 2017, but the CEC withdrew his candidacy due to his outstanding criminal record. The editorial staff of the Vesti newspaper named Navalny the politician of the year.
Personal life
The private life of the politician remains in the shadows. For almost two decades, his wife Julia has been providing him with comfort and a reliable rear. Alexey met his future wife on vacation in Turkey in 1999. Friends consider the family that emerged from the resort romance to be strong. The wife supports her husband in his professional endeavors and takes care of household chores. The couple are raising two children: daughter Daria and son Zakhar. The family lives in an ordinary Moscow high-rise building in the Maryino district.
