The Munich Security Conference, held annually, is allegedly the world’s leading forum for debating – guess what – international security. In other words, it is not the opera and it is not open to the public. I add for the record that it makes no headway safeguarding international security, but that is another matter. Its participants are not boy scouts – cf. this year’s list of participants. (Russia, of course, was not invited.)

So why was Yulia Navalnaya attending the Munich Security Conference on 16 February, the day the conference opened?

Yulia Navalnaya was attending the Munich Security Conference on 16 February, the very day Alexei Nalvany died. Now wasn’t that remarkably convenient? She was already there and ready to hold an impassioned speech for which she received a standing ovation. I’d call that divine intervention, if ever there was such a thing. But again: What on earth was Julia Navalnaya doing there in the first place? She’s not a security expert, for Pete’s sake

So who, or rather what is she?

Which begs the question: Who, or rather what was Alexei Navalny?