At a memorial service for Alexei Navalny in Moscow, thousands of people said goodbye to the late Kremlin critic. There were also loud calls against Putin. The police are on site with a large contingent.
In Moscow, relatives and supporters said goodbye to the dead Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny at the open coffin. His team, which is abroad because of the threat of arrest, fought back tears as Navalny’s relatives kissed the body. The live images could be seen in a YouTube stream.
An orchestra played funeral music. The song “My way” was played. The body was covered with a cloth before the coffin was closed and lowered into the ground.
A funeral service had previously taken place for the opposition activist. Navalny’s team showed in a live stream on YouTube how the body lay covered in flowers in the coffin, surrounded by numerous people. His mother, holding a candle, and his father sat at the coffin during the ceremony.
Anti-Putin-Rufe
Despite a large presence of police and security forces, hundreds of people had gathered hours before the funeral. At the church honoring the Mother of God icon “Relieve My Sorrow” in the southeastern district of Marjino, thousands of people crowded metal railings to say goodbye to the opposition leader. Many carried flowers in their hands.
According to Navalny’s team, the line of people waiting was several kilometers long. In the live stream that the deceased’s comrades-in-arms sent on YouTube, they showed recordings in which people could be heard chanting “Nawalny” and “We will not forget” as well as “You were not afraid and we are not afraid”. Many also shouted anti-Putin slogans such as “Putin is a murderer” and “Russia without Putin.”
Western ambassadors also at the funeral service
After a ceremony in the church, the coffin containing the opposition activist’s body was taken to the Borisovskoye cemetery, about half an hour’s walk away. The mourners had accompanied the hearse on the way to the cemetery. There were also calls against Putin and the war in Ukraine. “No to war” and “Love is more powerful than fear” were chanted.
Navalny’s allies had reported that the coffin could not initially be removed from the hearse. Security forces blocked the car in which the pallbearers were.
Western ambassadors also came to the funeral service, including the German Alexander Graf Lambsdorff. The Russian presidential candidates Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, who were ultimately not admitted, were also seen in the crowd in front of the church.
Foreign diplomats stand near the church where Navalny’s memorial service is taking place: They include the French ambassador to Russia, Pierre Levy (second from left), and the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy (second from right), as well as the German one Ambassador in Moscow, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (center).
The widow Yulia Navalnaya, the daughter Daria and the son Zakhar did not attend the funeral service because they are abroad for their own safety. Navalny’s wife had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of murdering her husband. She would risk arrest in Russia. Navalny’s team is also not in the country because his employees, who are considered extremists, would also be arrested immediately.
Threatening backdrop before Navalny’s funeral
Previously, Russia’s power apparatus had set up an unprecedented threatening backdrop for the mourners in front of the church and at the cemetery: metal grilles were set up over a wide area, dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed officers took up positions early in the morning, and uniformed officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by, as Russian media reported. Mobile internet has also been restricted. Numerous police officers were also stationed at the Borisovskoye cemetery, where Navalny was to be buried.
Cordon and surveillance: The police at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow.
Arrests feared – Kremlin warns
It is feared that the Russian power apparatus will take tough action against Navalny’s supporters. On Thursday, the police took up positions in front of the cemetery and checked IDs and bags of passers-by.
In addition, numerous barriers were brought to the cemetery grounds. In the past few weeks, hundreds of people have been arrested across the country who wanted to lay flowers at monuments for the well-known opposition politician.
Before the funeral service began, the Kremlin warned against attending “unauthorized” gatherings. Anyone who takes part in such a rally will be “held responsible in accordance with applicable law,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Tass news agency.
The team of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent opponent said it had difficulty finding a place for the funeral service. In addition, several funeral homes refused to transport the opposition politician’s body. Navalny’s widow warned on Wednesday of possible police action during the funeral service. “I don’t know whether it will be a peaceful funeral or whether the police will arrest people who want to say goodbye to him,” said Yulia Navalnaya in the European Parliament.
According to official information, Navalny died on February 16 at the age of 47 in a prison camp north of the Arctic Circle. The sharp critic of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was physically very weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and constant solitary confinement in the camp. The circumstances of his death remain unclear. Russian authorities gave a natural cause of death. They rejected allegations of state involvement. Navalny’s supporters and leading Western politicians blame Putin for the opposition politician’s death.
What also caused horror was that Navalny’s relatives had to search for his body for days after his death and were later apparently harassed and blackmailed by representatives of the state apparatus. According to mother Lyudmila Navalnaya, the Kremlin wanted Navalny to be buried secretly. However, she repeatedly defended herself against this. Finally, Navalny’s team declared that they wanted to organize a location for the funeral service.