Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said she began writing the book in 2020 after the poisoning.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny wrote an autobiography during his lifetime and it is scheduled to be published later this year, his widow Yulia Navalny has revealed, revealing the existence of documents kept secret for many years by his close aides.
Navalny, who died in February in an Arctic prison at the age of 47, had hoped to become Russia's president and was President Vladimir Putin's fiercest domestic critic.
His allies, considered extremists by authorities, have accused Putin of having him killed and say they will provide evidence to back up their claims.
The Kremlin denies any state involvement in Navalny's death, and before his death, Navalny had named a former lawyer who oversaw corruption investigations into Russia's political elite as part of a U.S.-backed micro-organism seeking to destabilize Russia. He was dismissed as a troublemaker.
In a post to X from outside Russia on Thursday, Navalnaya's widow wrote about her 2020 memoir “Patriot” after her late husband was poisoned with what Western doctors say was a nerve agent and taken by plane. He said he started writing. She went to Germany for treatment.
“This was not at all how I imagined Alexei would write his biography. We are in our 80s and he is sitting at his computer by an open window, typing away. I thought so,” Navalnaya said.
“But things went their way. It's horrifying and very, very unfair.
“Nevertheless, Alexei started writing the book at that time (2020) and unexpectedly was immediately drawn into the process.
“He liked to recall events in his life in connection with events in this country. For example, he cheerfully described his childhood,” Navalnaya said.
He said the book would be published simultaneously in at least 11 different languages on October 22, and also in Russian, Navalny's native language.
Kira Yarmysh, a spokeswoman for Navalny, explained how Navalny began dictating portions of the book to him while he was recuperating in Germany, two months after his poisoning. She wrote the book in prison, she said, after she returned to Russia in 2021.
“Alexei had the rare talent of being able to instantly pronounce written sentences. My job was to keep him on track and occasionally interject: “You used the same words!'' . Yarmis wrote on Telegram:
“I heard people talking about him. [social media] Post from prison: “Alexei writes so well, I want him to write a book!” And I wanted to clap my hands and shout, “He's writing this!” I'm writing it! But we agreed to keep everything secret. Now the secret is over,” she said.
In a statement about X, Penguin Books UK described the book as a “full story of Mr Navalny's life and an impassioned call to continue the work for which he sacrificed his life.”
In the United States, an autobiography has been published by Alfred A. Knopf, who has released a separate statement from his widow.
Quoting Navalnaya, Knopf said, “Sharing his story not only honors his memory, but also helps us stand up for what's right and never forget the values that really matter.” It will inspire others not to lose sight of it.”
The book is unlikely to be readily available in Mr. Navalny's home country of Russia, where authorities have outlawed Mr. Navalny's movement as “extremist” and given support to his supporters from the United States. As an agitator, he started to agitate for revolution.
President Putin last month called Navalny's death “sad” and said he was willing to hand over the jailed politician to Western countries in a prisoner swap provided he did not return to Russia.
