Aeroflot CEO Says Antigraft Blogger Navalny Could Help on Board

Alexey Navalny’s experience fighting corruption may benefit OAO Aeroflot, Chief Executive Officer Vitaly Savelyev said, commenting on the nomination of the lawyer and blogger to the board of Russia’s biggest airline.

“Alexey Navalny has experience, including in corporate governance and anti-corruption efforts,” Savelyev told reporters in Moscow today. “This could be applied at Aeroflot.”

Billionaire Alexander Lebedev, who controls about 15 percent of Aeroflot, put forward 35-year-old Navalny as an independent director for the state company’s board, according to the businessman’s blog. Navalny confirmed the move on his own Web page.

“Those who fear Navalny are the ones that have something to fear,” Savelyev said. Aeroflot has nothing to hide, he said.