On March 1, the farewell and burial of the Russian opposition politician Oleksiy Navalny will take place in Moscow. The ceremony, attended by hundreds of people, is taking place amid heightened security and other tactics by the Russian authorities aimed at reducing the number of people willing to participate in the ceremony.
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh the day before reported in Xearlier on Twitter that the ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. local time at a church in Moscow’s Maryino district, where Navalny used to live.
“Despite all opposition, farewell to Oleksiy will definitely take place tomorrow. Memorial service – at 2:00 p.m., funeral – at 4:00 p.m. If you are in Moscow, come,” Yarmysh wrote.
For those who will not be able to come, according to the spokeswoman, the funeral broadcast on YouTube.
People who came to say goodbye chanted “Navalny!” when the coffin with his body was brought to the church.
As reported “Sota” publication, early in the morning, at least forty police cars of various sizes – from cars to special buses – have gathered near the church, metal fences are installed along the road and riot police are on duty.
Fences stand on the way from the “Mar’ino” metro station to the Borysovsky cemetery, including along the Bratiivsky bridge. informs “Mediazone”. Police officers check documents and personal belongings of passers-by on both banks of the river. To the temple cars are driving.
Russian security forces near the church where Navalny will be laid to rest on March 1, 2024
Internet problems appeared near the church. Before The Insider reported that an antenna was installed next to it for the communication of representatives of the special services. To the correspondent’s question: “What, will they jam?”, the worker who installed the antenna answered: “It depends on you.”
After the funeral, Navalny will be buried at the Borisov cemetery. The day before, it became known that the cemetery and the nearby metro station had increased security, and surveillance cameras had been installed on every street light around the cemetery.
Navalny’s team also called on supporters of the Kremlin critic around the world to gather at 7:00 p.m. in their time zones to honor his memory.
Navalny’s death in a colony in the north of Russia became known on February 16. The body of the deceased politician was handed over to his mother only on February 24. In the medical report, which was shown to Lyudmila Navalny, “natural causes” of death were noted. According to the oppositionist’s associates, before that, the investigators blackmailed the politician’s mother and demanded that she hold her son’s funeral “quietly”, “in family mode”.
Supporters of the politician believe that he was killed. Navalny’s widow Yulia promised to continue her husband’s case.
Speaking in the European Parliament, she called Vladimir Putin, whom she considers responsible for the murder of her husband, not a politician, but “the leader of a criminal group” and emphasized that the fight against him is “the fight against the mafia.” Navalny said that Putin must answer “for what he did to Oleksiy Navalny and to the neighboring country”, referring to Ukraine. Navalny’s speech in the European Parliament was met with applause.