Vladimir Putin’s presidential victory this march was more of a coronation than an election. With the political system heavily skewed in his favor and all significant opponents disqualified, jailed, or dead, the vote was almost entirely pro forma. Still, the Russian opposition lives on—not just in would-be leaders behind bars like Vladimir Kara-Murza, who following the death of Alexei Navalny is now Russia’s most high-profile political prisoner, but also in the spouses who take up their advocacy when they’re no longer able to do it themselves.
Ever since Vladimir’s arrest in April 2022 for criticizing
