Two women traveling with Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar during a recent traffic accident have been unofficially identified as her friends Urška Repovž and Viktorija Krivolutskaja, according to Slovenian media reports.
The women were inside an official vehicle carrying the president when it crashed in Slovenia’s Kastelec tunnel. Following the accident, members of the public called for the passengers’ identities to be disclosed.
The president’s office initially declined to release their names, arguing that neither woman is a public figure.
However, Andrej Rupnik, a former director of Slovenia’s intelligence and security agency, challenged that position. He argued that the women became part of a matter of public interest when they entered a vehicle transporting a protected government official.
Pirc Musar previously explained that, as a protected person, she must travel exclusively in vehicles operated by her office or the police, regardless of whether the trip is official or private.
She said the same security procedures apply when she travels with friends or family for personal activities. According to the president, her two friends had planned to accompany her to the Pogi Challenge event, and security officials approved their transportation in an official van with a protective escort.
The president expressed regret that the accident prevented the group from reaching the event.
A police officer driving the vehicle suffered minor injuries. Medical records cited in the report indicated that Pirc Musar remained conscious after the crash and complained of pain in her right shoulder. Examinations found that she had fractured her collarbone but sustained no other injuries.
Attention later turned to Krivolutskaja’s background. Police confirmed that she is a Russian national, while the president’s office said she has also held Slovenian citizenship since 2016.
Questions have since been raised about the circumstances under which she obtained Slovenian citizenship because of an earlier criminal conviction.
According to reports cited by Nova.rs, Krivolutskaja caused a fatal highway accident near Ljubljana on June 25, 2007. An Austrian motorcyclist was killed, and she reportedly left the scene before police located her the following day in Zagorje.
She initially blamed her friend Ksenija Trojanova for the crash, according to the report, but a court determined that Krivolutskaja had been driving.
A lower court sentenced her to 17 months in prison. A higher court later reduced the sentence to one year, which she served.
Slovenian citizenship law reportedly prevents a person who has received an unconditional prison sentence longer than three months from obtaining citizenship unless the legal requirements for removing the conviction from their criminal record have been met.
Slovenia’s Interior Ministry is therefore expected to clarify the circumstances surrounding Krivolutskaja’s acquisition of citizenship in 2016.
Slovenian media also reported that Krivolutskaja has connections to companies associated with the president and her husband. She reportedly works as chief accountant for the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia.
