Navalny's daughter voices grief and meets Biden, as world reels from Russian activist's death

"Love, kisses, big hugs and I miss you so much" Dasha wrote, making this the first public comment the 23-year-old has made since her father passed away.

Last Thursday, Navalnaya and her mother had a meeting in Washington with U.S. President Joe Biden. According to a statement from the White House, President Biden took the opportunity to articulate his admiration for "Alexei Navalny's extraordinary courage and his lifelong struggle against corruption in favour of a free and democratic Russia".

Biden uploaded photos from this meeting onto his profile on platform X. He wrote, "Alexei's legacy of courage will continue to live on in Julia and Dasha, as well as the many people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights."

News of Navalny's death was made public on Friday, 16th February. The Russian authorities were the first to comment on this issue, with Russian and international media following suit. The opposition leader had been detained in a penal colony located beyond the Arctic Circle. The Russian prison service reported that he had collapsed during a walk, and that their attempts to resuscitate him were futile.

On Saturday, the opposition leader's spokesperson confirmed these reports. "Alexei Navalny was murdered. His death took place on February 16 at 10:17 GMT, according to the official notification delivered to Alexei's mother," announced Kira Yarmysh on platform X at around noon on the same day.