The body of Kremlin critic Navalny was supposed to disappear quietly and secretly according to the will of the Russian power apparatus. But thousands also turned the funeral into a political demonstration.
Despite a massive police presence and repression in advance, thousands of people in Moscow came to the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny. “Navalny, Navalny,” they shout as the coffin containing Russia’s most popular opposition politician, who died in a prison camp two weeks ago, is carried into the church in honor of the Mother of God icon “Ease My Sorrow” in the southeastern district of Marjino.
There is always loud clapping and many people cry. Later, the expressions of mourning even turned into open anti-Kremlin protests and anti-war protests – the first such rally on this scale in a long time.
Accompanied by the worries of being arrested
The mood is already tense in advance. “I was afraid to come, but Navalny was a symbol of fearlessness,” says 20-year-old Artyom. Now he wants to honor his memory. The student stands in the crowd with red flowers. Because of his conspicuous top hat, he is repeatedly filmed and questioned by the media.
Pensioner Alla has white carnations with her. She also has worries. She fears that arrests will be made following provocations. “I’ve already received two administrative fines, and for the third they booked me in.” In fact, the prison vans keep circling the crowd, which patiently waits for hours. Many came to the church a good two hours before the planned funeral service. Those who arrive later pass the queue, which stretches over several streets.
According to civil rights activists, more than 100 people were arrested at the mourning events. The civil rights platform OWD-Info wrote of 128 arrests in 19 cities. “There may be more people arrested in any police station than in the published lists,” it also says. In most cases, those affected were released after a short time.
Most of the arrests took place in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk. At least 31 people were taken into custody there, reports OWD-Info. In the Ural metropolis of Yekaterinburg, police arrested another 19 people. In Moscow there are said to be 17 people, three of whom have to spend the night at the station, it is said.
In addition to Navalny, the war against Ukraine is also a recurring topic of conversation among the mourners. Many have family there, others have friends. Nobody here agrees with the invasion, which, according to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, is supposedly supported by almost the entire population. “And we are significantly more than the supposed two percent that the propaganda mocks,” says Artyom combatively in view of the huge crowd.
30-year-old Kyrill is skeptical. He admitted that he hadn’t expected such a large crowd. “But in the end nothing will change,” he says. The last flare-up of opposition occurred in 2019, when Kremlin opponents managed to push through many of their candidates in the Moscow City Duma. “Back then we weren’t so afraid of the police, even though I was arrested along with Ilya Yashin at the demonstrations.” Yashin was one of Navalny’s closest confidants – he is currently serving an eight and a half year prison sentence.
Cries of protest against Putin
Meanwhile, Navalny’s farewell is going strictly according to plan after the morgue employees initially hesitated to hand over his body that morning. In the early afternoon, the van with the brown coffin arrives at the gates of the church on time.
In the church there are also pictures for the first time of Navalny’s body in an open coffin, covered by flowers, surrounded by numerous people during the service. Navalny’s face can also be seen. His mother Lyudmila Navalnaya, who fought to have her son released, holds a candle in her hand, and his father sit at the coffin during the ceremony. People hugged her after the memorial service and said, “Thank you for your son.”
On the way to the Borisovskoye cemetery, about half an hour away on foot, the mood becomes increasingly tense. The slogans chanted by the crowd have long since become highly political. “Russia without Putin”, “Putin is a murderer” and “No to war” are just a few of them.
The police get into position with numerous prisoner transport vehicles, but let the demonstrators do their thing for now. Sometimes the officials seem overwhelmed by the huge crowds.
Alla speaks to one of the officers. “Aren’t you cold, waiting like that for hours,” she says to three officers in masks, given the winter weather. When one of them grumbles, she advises him to just go home.
Navalnaya not on site
While the funeral procession is still on the way, the coffin is set up and opened again at Navalny’s final resting place. Relatives kiss the corpse. An orchestra plays mourning music, then the song “My way” is heard. The body is covered with a cloth before the coffin is closed and lowered into the ground. Thousands of people walk past the open grave that afternoon and each throw a handful of earth onto the coffin.
The widow Yulia Navalnaya, the daughter Darja and the son Zakhar did not take part in 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 being arrested in Russia – also because she wants to continue her husband’s fight against Putin.
Navalny’s team is not in the country because his employees, who are considered extremists, would also be arrested immediately. Navalny’s confidants Leonid Volkov and Ruslan Shaveddinov, who moderate a live stream on YouTube for hundreds of thousands of viewers, repeatedly fought back tears during the several-hour farewell. They assure that they will continue Navalny’s fight against Putin and corruption in the Russian power apparatus.
Completely weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and constant solitary confinement later in the camp, Navalny collapsed in the prison yard on February 16 at the age of just 47, according to official information. According to his team, there can be no question of a “natural” cause of death, as stated on the death certificate.
From afar abroad, wife Julia Navalnaya says goodbye to her husband via video clip with a moving message of love with striking scenes from their life together. The images are accompanied by the song “Khotschesch” (in German: Willste) by the Russian singer Zemfira. The 47-year-old wrote that she will always love Alexei.
“Lyosha, thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the last three years of happiness. For love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even in prison, for always thought of me,” Navalnaya wrote: “I don’t know how I’m going to live without you, but I’ll do my best so that you’re up there happy for me and proud of me. (…) Rest in peace.”