Previously, Navalny was little-known outside of an internet-savvy minority in Moscow, and his hard-hitting corruption exposes and fiery protest speeches are hardly the domain of tabloid publications like Secrets of the Stars. The magazine includes a column called Kremlin Expert that relays political news in the voice of Putin's black labrador retriever Connie.
The candidate's press secretary, Anna Veduta, denied speculation that his campaign had paid for the article, saying that Navalny was reaching out to new audiences, especially non-internet users, mainly through personal meetings at metro stations around the city.
