Focus on the BIG picture.
Thursday, Jan 22, 2026
Outside the box.
Biden Meets Putin Critic Navalny's Family In California
President Joe Biden met with the family of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in California, expressing condolences and discussing the U.S.'s new sanctions on Russia over Navalny's death.
In a private session in San Francisco with Navalny's widow, Yulia, and daughter, Dasha, Biden honored Alexei Navalny's courage and impact on the fight for democracy and against corruption in Russia.
The White House revealed on February 16 that Navalny, 47, had passed away in a Russian prison. A prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, Navalny inspired large-scale protests and exposed government corruption.
After surviving a poisoning with a nerve agent in 2020, Navalny was incarcerated upon his return to Russia from medical treatment in Germany in 2021, later facing a 19-year sentence on extremism charges.
His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, claims Russian officials are pressuring her for a clandestine burial, while U.S. officials urge that Navalny's body be returned for a proper commemoration.
Concurrently, the U.S. is marking two years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine by charging affluent Russians to impair Moscow's wartime financing. Upcoming sanctions specifically related to Navalny's death were set to be disclosed.
The White House revealed on February 16 that Navalny, 47, had passed away in a Russian prison. A prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, Navalny inspired large-scale protests and exposed government corruption.
After surviving a poisoning with a nerve agent in 2020, Navalny was incarcerated upon his return to Russia from medical treatment in Germany in 2021, later facing a 19-year sentence on extremism charges.
His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, claims Russian officials are pressuring her for a clandestine burial, while U.S. officials urge that Navalny's body be returned for a proper commemoration.
Concurrently, the U.S. is marking two years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine by charging affluent Russians to impair Moscow's wartime financing. Upcoming sanctions specifically related to Navalny's death were set to be disclosed.
