Yulia Navalnaya was given a standing ovation after urging people to unite to “defeat this terrible regime in Russia”.
Alexei Navalny’s wife has said she does not know whether to believe he is dead – but that President Putin and his regime must be held accountable if it is true.
Yulia Navalnaya was speaking at the Munich Security Conference hours after Russian authorities said the 47-year-old had died in prison.
She said she did not know whether to still speak or fly to her children, but that she asked herself what her husband would have done.
“I’m confident he would be here on this stage,” she told the audience.
Mrs Navalnaya said she was unsure whether Friday afternoon’s statement from the prison service was true.
“I don’t know whether to believe or not this terrible news that we only receive from Russian government sources,” she said.
“For many years we cannot trust Putin and the Putin government. They always lie.”
The prison service said Mr Navalny – for years President Putin’s most outspoken opponent – died after going on a walk and feeling unwell.
He was imprisoned in the Arctic Circle after being convicted of multiple charges – most recently getting another 19-year sentence in August.
Mr Navalny nearly died in 2020 when he was poisoned with novichok and became unwell on a flight.
However, he eventually returned to Russia to continue his campaigning against corruption and authoritarianism.