Alexey Navalny, who died aged 47, had long been a thorn in the side of Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.
Moscow: Over 115 people have been arrested across Russia for commemorating the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, CNN reported, citing monitoring group OVD-Info. According to a report by CNN, the monitoring group OVD-Info disclosed that Novosibirsk recorded the highest number of detentions, with 16 individuals taken into custody. Moscow, where Navalny was laid to rest, witnessed at least 10 detentions, while Yekaterinburg and the Voronezh region had 10 and 14 detentions respectively.
Alexey Navalny was laid to rest in Moscow on March 1, exactly two weeks after his death. Thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects to the former opposition figure — expressing defiance and calling Navalny a “true hero.”
The Kremlin said it had “nothing” to say to Navalny’s family and also warned against unauthorized memorials for him. Russia’s prison service said he died after feeling “unwell after a walk,” while Navalny’s team and family have blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death.
Despite the looming threat of detainment and a heavy police presence, thousands gathered in Moscow to pay their respects at Navalny’s funeral. The service, which took place at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Quench My Sorrows,” featured an open casket adorned with flowers covering Navalny’s face. As his coffin was lowered, the poignant strains of Frank Sinatra’s iconic song “My Way” filled the air.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, released a message expressing her love: “I don’t know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me.” Navalny, who made global headlines when he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, has encouraged Russians to “not give up” in the event of his death.
The burial occurred at Borisovsky cemetery in Moscow’s Maryino district, where Navalny resided. His parents, including his father Anatoly, and foreign diplomats, such as US Ambassador Lynne Tracy, attended.
Note: OVD-Info, an independent media and human rights defense group in Russia, is dedicated to monitoring and combating repression in the country. The organization reported detentions in various other cities including Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Vladikavkaz, Sochi, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and Ulan-Ude.
As Navalny’s body arrived at the church, mourners clapped, and chants of “Navalny,” “no to war,” and “Russia without Putin” echoed.Following the ceremony, some attendees overturned crowd control barriers to follow the funeral procession. Numerous people congregated at the burial site, forming a line several hundred metres long at the Brateyevsky Bridge. Attendees expressed defiance, stating they were unafraid of potential repercussions from the government for their participation, according to CNN.
Alexey Navalny’s death
Alexey Navalny, who died aged 47, had long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.
His imprisonment in 2021 sparked scores of demonstrations across Russia, leading to thousands of detentions. From prison, Navalny denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine via social media and encouraged anti-war protests across the country.
The Kremlin critic was quietly relocated to a penal colony in Siberia in December, a move that sparked a two-week search by his team who lost contact with him during the unannounced transfer.