WASHINGTON — A pair of senators, one Democrat and one Republican, introduced a bill to rename part of a street in the nation’s capital after the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The move, meant to honor the leading critic of Russian President Vladmir Putin, comes in the heat of the Trump administration’s efforts to ramp up communication between the U.S. and Russia as it looks to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

What You Need To Know

  • A pair of bipartisan senators introduced a bill to rename part of a street in the nation’s capital after the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny 
  • The bill, introduced by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., would name a portion of the street near the Russian ambassador’s residence in Washington “Alexei Navalny Way" 
  • It comes as President Donald Trump over the last two weeks has sought to open new dialogues with Russia, including holding a phone call with his Russian counterpart last week, as he looks to put a stop to the three-year-old war in Ukraine 
  • The call led the way for three U.S. officials and Russian counterparts to hold in-person talks in Saudi Arabia this week
  • The nations walked away from the sit down agreeing to bring back staff at their embassies, create teams to negotiate an end to the war and explore opportunities for closer relations between the nations

 

The bill, introduced by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., would name a portion of the street near the Russian ambassador’s residence in Washington “Alexei Navalny Way.” 

“Renaming the street near the Russian Ambassador’s residence, Navalny Way memorializes his fight for freedom and democracy,” Cassidy said in a statement. “When Russians visit our nation’s capital, they will remember his unflinching opposition to Putin’s dictatorial control.”

Its introduction marks the one-year anniversary since Navalny died in a Russian prison, where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism. The senators noted in a press release that Navalny “led the political opposition” to Putin for more than a decade. 

“Putin has tried to silence anyone in Russia who might dissent from his strategy—anyone who might have the audacity to suggest there should be democracy or freedom in that country,” Durbin said in a statement on the bill. “He sent one of his harshest critics—Alexei Navalny—to prison and, tragically, to his death.” 

Seven other senators are cosponsoring the bill. 

It comes as President Donald Trump over the last two weeks has sought to open new dialogues with Russia, including holding a phone call with his Russian counterpart last week, as he looks to put a stop to the three-year-old war in Ukraine. 

The call, which Trump described as “lengthy and highly productive,” led the way for three U.S. officials and Russian counterparts to hold in-person talks in Saudi Arabia this week.The nations walked away from the sit down agreeing to bring back staff at their embassies, create teams to negotiate an end to the war and explore opportunities for closer relations between the nations. 

In the days since, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who expressed concern about not being included in the conversation in Saudi Arabia, have traded jabs at one another, particularly after the U.S. president said Ukraine started the war that was sparked by Russia’s invasion. 

Before Trump’s call last week, the last known direct communication between Trump’s predecessor, former President Joe Biden, and Putin was just before Russia’s full invasion in February 2022.