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Alexei Navalny's daughter, Dasha, celebrates graduating from Stanford alongside beaming mother Yulia

3 months ago 11

The daughter of Alexei Navalny celebrated graduating from Stanford University on Sunday, alongside her beaming mother Yulia, just four months after the Russian opposition leader's death.

Dasha Navalnaya, 23, took to Instagram on Monday to share pictures from her graduation ceremony from the Ivy League college in California the day before. 

Sporting a white mini dress and yellow kitten heels for the occasion, the graduate can be seen throwing up one hand in the air in celebration in one photo. 

Her proud mother, and widow of Alexei, also shared some snaps on social media.

In one image, the mother-daughter duo are pictured side by side, with Dasha wearing her graduation robe and ribbon, while also holding her diploma. 

Daughter of Alexei Navalny, 23-year-old Dasha, graduated from Stanford University on Sunday, just a few months after her father's sudden death

Dasha and her beaming mother Yulia pose together on Dasha's graduation day on Sunday

The wife and daughter of Alexei Navalny will continue his fight against Putin

Beaming Yulia poses with her arm lovingly on her daughter's shoulder, wearing a midi yellow dress and orange heels. 

Yulia also shared a selfie with her smiley daughter, who is wearing her graduation cap. 

The proud-mother's  caption, which was written in Russian, reads: 'I am very proud...The smartest, most beautiful, and most importantly, the best friend in the world. Our girl'. 

Yulia also shared videos of the graduation ceremony on her Instagram stories. One clip shows the crowd of new graduates cheering, while another shows the graduating class walking out from a building. 

Dasha was captured flashing her mother a tender smile. 

Yulia shared clips of Dasha's graduation on her Instagram story. In one clip, footage of the graduating class and their supporters in the crowd were filmed cheering

Another clip shows Dasha, dressed in her graduation attire, flashing her proud mom a smile

The 23-year-old's graduation comes just a few months after her father, the political activist Alexei's death in February. He was recognised as Russia's most fierce Putin critic.

Before his untimely death, aged 47, he had survived poisoning attempts and years in some of Russia's most notorious jails, after he had exposed corruption at almost every level of the Russian state. 

Even behind bars, he was an influential voice.

But in February this year, he reportedly lost consciousness and died when going for a walk in the Polar Wolf Arctic prison.

Alexei's allies, branded extremists by authorities, had accuesed Putin of having him murdered and said they would provide proof to back their allegation, however the Kremlin has denied any state involvement. 

US intelligence sources have claimed there is no evidence to prove that Russian President Vladimir Putin was involved in the assassination of opposition leader Alexei Navalny 

Yulia Navalnaya, centre, widow of Alexey Navalny believes the Kremlin ordered her husband's murder

Mr Navalny was Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic critic. Many believe he ordered his rival's death

Yulia met Alexei in 1998 while on holiday in Turkey, and the pair got married just two years later, giving birth to their two children, Dasha (pictured, left) and Zakhar (pictured, bottom)

US intelligence agencies in April determined that Putin probably didn't order Navalny to be killed, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

Yulia has maintained that she believes Putin was responsible for her husband's death. 

Despite his death, Dasha and Yulia have picked up Alexei's baton. 

'Putin killed half of me, but my other half won't give up,' Yulia declared in the aftermath of her husband's death. 

Dasha has supported her mother and even attended a meeting in San Francisco with President Joe Biden in February. 

Today, I met with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya – Aleksey Navalny's loved ones – to express my condolences for their devastating loss.

Aleksey's legacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha, and the countless people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights. pic.twitter.com/aiCcgTrws3

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 22, 2024

Biden commented on the mother-daughter duo, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that the 'legacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha'.    

She is expected to play a growing role in keeping her father's campaign alive.    

Earlier this month ahead of Dasha's graduation, an article by the 23-year-old was published in Harpers Bazaar, titled 'My Father the Superhero'. 

In a touching tribute to her late father, she wrote: 'I always considered my dad a superhero: big and strong, intelligent and charismatic, hardworking and resilient. He had an unbreakable moral compass and little patience for injustice. My father was a man of courage. He was fearless because he understood the importance of his fight—for democracy, transparency, and truth.'

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