Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who is buried in Moscow, released a video clip of love with striking scenes from their life together as she bid farewell to her husband. She will always love Alexei, wrote the 47-year-old on Instagram.
The post continues: “Ljoscha, thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the last three years of happiness. For the love, for always supporting me, for even putting me in prison “It made you laugh that you always thought of me.” Ljoscha is the pet form of the name Alexei.
Navalnaya continued: “I don’t know how I will live without you, but I will do my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don’t know if I can do it or not, but I will try. I’m sure we’ll meet one day. I have so many untold stories for you, and I have so many songs saved for you on my phone, silly and funny and generally, frankly, terrible songs “But they’re about us, and I wanted so badly for you to listen to them. And I wanted so badly to see you listen to them and laugh and then hug me. I’ll always love you. Rest in peace.”
Navalnaya, daughter Daria and son Sakhar were not in Moscow for the funeral – for security reasons. The widow had accused Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin of murdering Navalny. She faces arrest in Russia. She has also announced that she will continue her husband’s political fight against Putin. Navalny died on February 16 under still unclear circumstances in a Russian prison camp, where he had to serve a long prison sentence.
Funeral service with a heavy police presence
Dozens of emergency vehicles, barriers, identity checks, throttled mobile networks: the Russian power apparatus tried to disrupt Navalny’s memorial service.
Around noon the coffin arrived at the church for the funeral service. In a live stream on YouTube, Navalny’s team showed how men pulled him out of a black van and then carried him into the church in step. Hundreds of thousands watched the broadcast, and thousands of people waited in front of the church, some with flowers in their hands. Many chanted “Navalny”, “Navalny”, “Navalny”. Some also shouted, “You were not afraid. And we are not afraid.” According to the dpa, they also shouted “Putin is a murderer!” and: “No to war!”
A hearse stands between people in front of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Relieve my grief” in the Marjino district of Moscow.
(Photo: Stringer/REUTERS)
The stream also showed the body lying in an open coffin covered in flowers in the church, surrounded by numerous people. Alexei Navalny’s face was also visible. His mother, holding a candle, and his father sat at the coffin during the ceremony.
In this photo published by the Navalny team, relatives and friends pay their last respects at the open coffin.
(Photo: Uncredited/dpa)
The funeral service took place in the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Relieve my grief” in the southeastern district of Marjino. Western ambassadors also came to her, including the German Alexander Graf Lambsdorff.
Four men carry the coffin into the church for the funeral service.
(Photo: STRINGER/AFP)
The first police patrols were seen on Thursday evening around the Borisov Cemetery in southeast Moscow, where Navalny will later be buried. On Friday, the presence of the uniformed men increased again: dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed men took up positions early in the morning, and uniformed men checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by, as reported by Russian media. The mobile internet was also turned down. According to reports, there was a notice hanging on the church not to film or take photographs.
Navalny’s supporters have warned of police violence against mourners after hundreds of people across Russia were arrested while laying flowers in the past two weeks. The day before the funeral, Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch also complained on Platform X that the authorities were further hindering the preparations for the funeral service. She wrote that it was still not possible to organize a hearse. Moscow funeral homes received threatening calls from unknown people warning them not to transport the body.
Many young people came to the church to pay their last respects to Alexei Navalny.
(Photo: Stringer/REUTERS)
Navalny’s team had previously complained about pressure and attempts at blackmail from the Russian authorities. They want to force them to hold the popular politician’s funeral secretly, as Navalny’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya said several times.