Despite warnings from the Kremlin, thousands of people gathered in Moscow for the memorial service for Alexei Navalny. They chanted his name. The police are on site with a large contingent. Arrests are feared.
Relatives and supporters of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp, said goodbye at a memorial service in Moscow. In a live stream on YouTube, Navalny’s team showed the body lying in the coffin covered in flowers, surrounded by numerous people during the service. His mother, holding a candle, and his father sat at the coffin during the ceremony.
Lots of people with flowers
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.
Loud ARD correspondent Ina Ruck The queue of people was hundreds of meters long two hours before the funeral service began. Videos showed people chanting “Navalny” and “We will not forget,” as well as “You weren’t afraid, we’re not afraid” and “Russia without Putin.”
Coffin brought to the cemetery
In the meantime, after a ceremony in the church, the coffin containing the opposition figure’s body has been taken to the Borisovskoye cemetery, about half an hour’s walk away. The mourners had accompanied the hearse on the way to the cemetery. The opposition activist’s funeral is planned here at around 4 p.m. local time (2 p.m. CET). However, Navalny’s allies report that the coffin cannot be carried out of the hearse because security forces are blocking the car in which the pallbearers are.
Western ambassadors also came to the funeral service, including the German Alexander Graf Lambsdorff.
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 being arrested 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.