2024-03-01 16:36:28
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has been buried in Moscow. Despite threats from the Kremlin, several thousand people gathered to say goodbye to Navalny.
Relatives of Alexei Navalny, including his mother (front center), attend the funeral service in a Moscow church. Navalny’s wife and children were missing.
Reuters
The funeral service in the church began shortly after 12 p.m. and only relatives were allowed. Navalny’s mother, holding a candle, and his father sat at the coffin during the ceremony. His wife and children were not present because they are abroad for their own safety. Navalny’s wife had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of murdering her husband. She would risk being arrested in Russia. Julia Navalnaya said goodbye to her husband in an Instagram post. “Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness,” she wrote. “I don’t know how I’ll live without you, but I’ll do my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me.”
Navalny’s team was also not in the country because his employees, who are considered extremists, would also be arrested immediately.
In the afternoon, the human rights organization OVD-Info reported on its Telegram channel that six people had been arrested in Moscow and at least 39 in other parts of Russia.
Personal controls and barriers
The Russian government sent a large contingent to the funeral. The first police patrols were seen at the Borisowo cemetery on Thursday evening. According to Russian media reports, the presence of uniformed men increased again on Friday. Dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed officers had already taken up positions early in the morning in front of the church in Marijno, a southeastern district of Moscow. The police checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by. The mobile internet was also throttled.
Despite threats from the Russian government, supporters of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny flocked to the church. Hours before the funeral, thousands of people had gathered. Many carried flowers in their hands. A two-kilometer-long line of people had formed in front of the church. At the church, people crowded the metal bars to say goodbye to Navalny. While the coffin was later transported in a hearse to Borisovo Cemetery, thousands of people made their way there. They repeatedly shouted the name “Navalny” and chanted slogans such as “Russia will be free” or “Putin is a murderer”.
Thousands of people made a pilgrimage from the church to Moscow’s Borisovo Cemetery to say goodbye to Alexei Navalny.
Stringer / Reuters
Kremlin has “nothing to say” to Navalny’s relatives
The funeral of Navalny, who was considered Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s most important opponent, left the Russian power apparatus extremely nervous, according to observers. Putin’s authorities feared that supporters of Navalny, who died in a prison camp two weeks ago, could protest against the Kremlin chief. Putin wants to be confirmed as president in an election in two weeks. Supporters, relatives and human rights activists of Navalny accuse Putin of having the Russian opposition leader murdered in custody. The Kremlin rejects this.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said, according to Russian media, that “the Kremlin had nothing to say to Navalny’s relatives on the day of his funeral.” He also pointed out that the Kremlin “cannot evaluate Navalny as a political personality.” The Kremlin also said that any unauthorized gatherings in support of Navalny would violate the law. In recent weeks, hundreds of people have been arrested in Russia who wanted to lay flowers for Navalny at monuments.
According to authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in a penal camp in the Siberian Arctic region of the Yamal-Nenets at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death are not clear. According to Russian prison authorities, Navalny felt ill while walking in the prison yard. He then lost consciousness almost immediately and died. According to Navalny’s team, the death certificate mentions “natural” causes.
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