Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny is to be buried today in a Moscow cemetery after a farewell ceremony in a church, in which his team called on his supporters to participate despite the risk of arrests by the police. Main critic of the Kremlin and charismatic anti-corruption activist, Alexeï Navalny died on February 16 at the age of 47 in a Russian penal colony in the Arctic in circumstances which remain obscure. His collaborators, his widow Yulia Navalnaïa and the West have accused Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his death, which the Kremlin rejects.
After delaying handing over Mr. Navalny’s remains to his loved ones, the Russian authorities finally did so last weekend, allowing a funeral. The funeral service is due to begin on Friday at 2 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT) in a church in the Marino district, in the southeast of the Russian capital, where the opponent lived when he was free. According to the Orthodox rite, the body will be displayed in an open coffin for his loved ones before burial in the nearby Borissovo cemetery, two hours later.