Kira Yarmysh

{{Short description|Alexei Navalny's spokeswoman and writer (born 1989)}}

{{Family name hatnote|Aleksandrovna|Yarmysh|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Kira Yarmysh

| native_name = {{nobold|Кира Ярмыш}}

| native_name_lang = ru

| image = Berlin UdL Navalny's Cell Opening asv2023-01 img16.jpg

| caption = Yarmysh in 2023

| birth_name = Kira Aleksandrovna Yarmysh

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|10|11}}

| birth_place = Rostov-on-Don, Soviet Union

| alma mater = Moscow State Institute of International Relations

| occupation = Spokesperson, assistant, writer, activist

| employer = Alexei Navalny, Anti-Corruption Foundation

}}

Kira Aleksandrovna Yarmysh ({{Langx|ru|link=no|Кира Александровна Ярмыш}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈkʲirə ˈjarmɨʂ|IPA}}; born October 11, 1989) is a Russian public figure and writer. She is the former press secretary and assistant of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the author of the 2020 novel {{Not translated|Incredible Incidents in Women's Cell No. 3|ru|Невероятные происшествия в женской камере № 3}}.{{efn|Also known as The Curious Events in Women’s Cell #3. {{Langx|ru|Невероятные происшествия в женской камере № 3}}}}{{Cite web|last=Luxmoore|first=Matthew|date=2021-03-23|title=Claims Of Censorship As Moscow Book Fair Scraps Appearance By Navalny Aide|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-yarmysh-book-fair-censorship/31165954.html|access-date=2021-10-01|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}

Biography

Kira Yarmysh was born in Rostov-on-Don on October 11, 1989 into a Jewish family.{{Cite web|title=Кира Ярмыш: биография, личная жизнь, деятельность|trans-title=Kira Yarmysh: biography, personal life, activities|url=https://zhizn-zvezd.ru/kira-yarmysh-biografiya-lichnaya-zhizn-deyatelnost/|access-date=January 21, 2021|website=zhizn-zvezd.ru|publisher=Жизнь звёзд|language=ru}} In 2007, she entered the {{Interlanguage link|Faculty of International Journalism|lt=|ru|Факультет международной журналистики|WD=}} of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) without exams, having won the {{Interlanguage link|University Challenge (Russia)|lt=University Challenge|ru|Умницы и умники|WD=}} Olympiad. After graduation, she worked in the press services of the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and Utair airline. In 2013, she took part in the election campaign of Alexei Navalny, who ran for mayor of Moscow.{{Cite web|last=Reiter|first=Svetlana|date=July 29, 2020|title=Каково это — быть пиар-советником политика, который поругался c половиной журналистов? Интервью пресс-секретаря Алексея Навального Киры Ярмыш|trans-title=What's it like — to be a public relations adviser to a politician who had a fight with half of the journalists? Interview of the press secretary of Alexei Navalny Kira Yarmysh|url=https://meduza.io/feature/2020/07/29/kakovo-eto-byt-piar-sovetnikom-politika-kotoryy-porugalsya-c-polovinoy-zhurnalistov|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Meduza|language=ru}} In August 2014, she became the press secretary of Navalny and the press secretary of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Navalny wrote in this regard: "It was important for us that the press sec had a strange surname."{{Cite web|last=Andreev|first=Kirill|date=August 2, 2014|title=Новым пресс-секретарём Алексея Навального стала ростовчанка Кира Ярмыш|trans-title=Kira Yarmysh from Rostov became the new press secretary of Alexei Navalny|url=https://www.donnews.ru/Novym-press-sekretarem-Alekseya-Navalnogo-stala-rostovchanka-Kira-Yarmysh_16379|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=donnews.ru|language=ru}}

In 2017, Yarmysh was co-host of several editions of the Navalny 20:18 programme, and made anti-corruption statements on her behalf. In particular, she published a video in which she said that Putin's friend Mikhail Kovalchuk "owns all television"; later Yarmysh acknowledged factual errors in the video and deleted it.{{Cite web|last1=Gatinsky|first1=Andrey|last2=Rudyak|first2=Anna|date=May 26, 2017|title=В фонде Навального извинились за ошибки в ролике о Ковальчуке|trans-title=The Navalny's Foundation apologized for the mistakes in the video about Kovalchuk|url=https://www.rbc.ru/rbcfreenews/5927fea09a7947d1cbffd7bb|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=rbc.ru|publisher=RBK Group|language=ru}}

In February 2018, Yarmysh was arrested for 5 days for a retweet that "formed a negative opinion of another candidate" in the Russian presidential elections;{{Cite web|date=February 1, 2018|title=Navalny Supporters Jailed Across Russia After Boycott Action|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2018/02/01/navalny-supporters-jailed-across-russia-after-boycott-action-a60351|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=The Moscow Times}}{{Cite news|last=Matsnev|first=Oleg|date=February 1, 2018|title=Aides to Russian Opposition Leader Sentenced to Jail (Published 2018)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/world/europe/navalny-russia-aides-jail.html|access-date=January 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} in May of the same year, a court of Moscow ordered a 25-day administrative arrest for tweets made two days before Vladimir Putin's inauguration about the action "He's Not our Tsar".{{Cite web|last=Lokshina|first=Tanya|date=May 23, 2018|title=From Kids to Leaders, Russia Cracks Down on Protesters|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/23/kids-leaders-russia-cracks-down-protesters|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Human Rights Watch}}{{Cite web|date=May 22, 2018|title=Navalny Press Secretary, TV Show Host 'Detained Again'|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-press-secretary-tv-show-host-detained-again/29242988.html|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}{{Cite web|date=May 24, 2018|title=Russia cracks down on opposition activists after protests|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20180524-russia-cracks-down-opposition-activists-after-protests|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=France 24|publication-place=Moscow}}

On January 21, 2021, for calling for rallies in support of Alexei Navalny, she was detained by Russian authorities along with her associates Lyubov Sobol and Georgy Alburov.{{Cite news|last1=Tétrault-Farber|first1=Gabrielle|last2=Balmforth|first2=Tom|last3=Marrow|first3=Alexander|last4=Rodionov|first4=Maxim|last5=Zverev|first5=Anton|last6=Grabar|first6=Maria|others=David Gregorio (ed.)|date=January 21, 2021|title=Russia rounds up allies of Kremlin foe Navalny in protest warning|work=Reuters|publication-place=Moscow|editor-last=Graff|editor-first=Peter|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-navalny-protests-idUSKBN29Q0UT|access-date=January 22, 2021}}{{Cite web|date=January 21, 2021|title=European Parliament calls for halt on Nord Stream 2 construction after Navalny arrest|url=https://www.dw.com/en/european-parliament-calls-for-halt-on-nord-stream-2-construction-after-navalny-arrest/a-56305956|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Deutsche Welle}}{{Cite web|last=Baklanov|first=Alexander|date=January 21, 2021|others=Translated by Eilish Hart|title=Police arrest Navalny's associates in Moscow ahead of planned opposition rallies|url=https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/01/21/police-arrest-navalny-s-associates-in-moscow-ahead-of-planned-opposition-rallies|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Meduza}} She was jailed for 9 days on charges of organizing public events without notifying the authorities.{{cite web|date=January 22, 2021|title=Navalny Allies Jailed, Fined as Russia Vows Protest Crackdown|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/01/22/navalny-allies-jailed-fined-as-russia-vows-crackdown-on-protests-a72697|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=The Moscow Times}} On February 1, 2021, Kira was placed under house arrest.{{Cite web|date=February 1, 2021|title=Russian Court Orders House Arrest Of Navalny Spokeswoman Until March 23|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-court-orders-house-arrest-of-navalny-spokeswoman-until-march-23/31080225.html|access-date=February 1, 2021|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}} The human rights organisation Memorial recognized her as a political prisoner.{{Cite web|date=February 8, 2021|title="Мемориал» считает политзаключёнными десять оппозиционеров, обвиняемых по «санитарному делу"|trans-title=Memorial considers ten oppositionists accused in a "sanitary case" as political prisoners|url=https://memohrc.org/ru/news_old/memorial-schitaet-politzaklyuchyonnymi-desyat-oppozicionerov-obvinyaemyh-po-sanitarnomu|access-date=March 31, 2021|website=Memorial (society)|language=ru}} Yarmysh fled Russia in 2021 after being convicted for calling for protests against Navalny's arrest.{{Cite web |last=Times |first=The Moscow |date=2022-03-22 |title=Navalny Sentenced to 9 More Years in Prison |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/03/22/navalny-sentenced-to-9-more-years-in-prison-a77027 |access-date=2023-03-06 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}

Literary activity

On October 26, 2020, the {{Interlanguage link|Corpus (Russia)|lt=Corpus|ru|Corpus|WD=}} publishing house published a novel by Kira Yarmysh titled "Incredible Incidents in Women's Cell No. 3" ({{Langx|ru|link=no|Невероятные происшествия в женской камере № 3}}).{{Cite web|date=October 30, 2020|title=Пресс-секретарь Алексея Навального Кира Ярмыш написала роман — "Невероятные происшествия в женской камере № 3" "Медуза" публикует фрагмент этой книги|trans-title=Press secretary of Alexei Navalny Kira Yarmysh wrote a novel — "Incredible incidents in women's cell № 3" "Meduza" publishes a fragment of this book|url=https://meduza.io/feature/2020/10/30/press-sekretar-alekseya-navalnogo-kira-yarmysh-napisala-roman-neveroyatnye-proisshestviya-v-zhenskoy-kamere-3|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Meduza}} The main heroine of the book is the girl Anya, who ended up in a special detention center for participating in an anti-corruption rally. The novel is based on the author's personal experience; Alexei Navalny said that he was the one who convinced Yarmysh to write the book.{{Cite web|last=Navalny|first=Alexei|author-link=Alexei Navalny|date=November 3, 2020|title=Невероятные происшествия в женской камере №3|trans-title=Incredible Incidents in Women's Cell №3|url=https://navalny.com/p/6441/|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=navalny.com|language=ru}}

Russian writer Dmitry Bykov called "Incredible Incidents ..." "a funny and fascinating prison novel", the author of which spoke "about the most important and painful thing — about the very new Russia that managed to be born, grow up and take place in spite of everything." According to Russian writer Boris Akunin, this is "a very timely book", the text of which is "much more alive than that of Gorky."{{Cite web|title=Кира Ярмыш "Невероятные происшествия в женской камере № 3"|trans-title=Kira Yarmysh "Incredible Incidents in the Women's Cell No. 3"|url=https://www.corpus.ru/products/kira-yarmysh-neveroyatnye-proisshestviya-v-zhenskoj-kamere-3.htm|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Corpus Publishing|language=ru}}{{Cite web|date=November 3, 2020|title=Пресс-секретарь Навального выпустила дебютный роман об узницах спецприемника – с "мистикой, политикой и любовью"|trans-title=Navalny's press secretary released her debut novel about the prisoners of a special detention center – with "mysticism, politics and love"|url=https://www.newsru.com/cinema/03nov2020/yarmysh_book.html|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=NEWSru|language=ru}}{{Cite web|date=November 4, 2020|title=Секретарь Навального выпустила свой первый роман о женском спецприёмнике|trans-title=Navalny's secretary released her first novel about a female detention center|url=https://kulturologia.ru/news/6738/|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=kulturologia.ru|language=ru}} Literary critic Galina Yuzefovich called the novel "very personal, deeply universal, very fascinating and truly relevant," characterizing at the metaphorical level the nature of the relationship between man and state machine in Putin's Russia.{{Cite web|last=Yuzefovich|first=Galina|date=December 12, 2020|title="Невероятные происшествия в женской камере № 3" — актуальный роман о девушке, случайно попавшей в спецприемник Галина Юзефович — о дебютной книге пресс-секретаря Навального Киры Ярмыш|trans-title="Incredible Incidents in Women's Cell No. 3" — a topical novel about a girl who accidentally ended up in a special detention center Galina Yuzefovich — about the debut book of Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh|url=https://meduza.io/feature/2020/12/12/neveroyatnye-proisshestviya-v-zhenskoy-kamere-3-aktualnyy-roman-o-devushke-sluchayno-popavshey-v-spetspriemnik|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Meduza|language=ru}}

Personal life

Yarmysh married in 2015 but later divorced. She was in a relationship with Ruslan Shaveddinov, FBK's project manager.{{Cite web|last1=Polovinko|first1=Vyacheslav|last2=Dokshin|first2=Vlad|date=December 25, 2020|title=Сейчас приедет такой Шаведдинов, будьте осторожны|trans-title=Now Shaveddinov will come, be careful|url=https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/12/25/88540-seychas-priedet-takoy-shaveddinov-budte-ostorozhny|access-date=January 22, 2021|website=Novaya Gazeta|language=ru}}

Bibliography

{{cite book |last=Yarmysh |first=Kira |title=The Incredible Events in Women's Cell Number 3 |date=2023-02-07 |publisher=Grove Press |isbn=978-0-8021-6073-7}} {{Cite news |last=Garner |first=Dwight |date=2023-02-06 |title=Conversations With Friends, in a Russian Jail Cell |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/books/kira-yarmysh-incredible-events-womens-cell-number-3.html |access-date=2023-06-26 |issn=0362-4331}}