The farewell to the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison on February 16, took place this Friday in a church in the Moscow neighborhood of Mariino. The coffin with his body has already been transferred to the Borisovo cemetery to be buried.
The wake lasted just over half an hour without the crowd of followers of the opponent, gathered around the temple, being able to enter to pay their respects. In compliance with the Orthodox rite, Navalny’s body was laid out in an open coffin.
Thousands of Russians attended the funeral, despite strict police measures and warnings from authorities about the consequences of participating in unauthorized acts.
“Navalny was the conscience of the nation. And although I am afraid, I have chosen awareness over fear and that is why I am here,” said 65-year-old Svetlana.
He added that the legacy of the Kremlin’s enemy, who died at the age of 47, “will not die.”
Another Muscovite assured that Navalny “was a good person and not just a good politician.”
“People followed him because he not only told the truth but believed in what he said,” he said.
The funeral took place two weeks after his death in an Arctic prison under circumstances that remain unclear.
His collaborators, his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, and Western countries accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of being responsible for his death.
On her X account, Navalnaya thanked her husband for “26 years of absolute happiness.”
“For your love, for your support, for making me laugh even from prison, for always thinking of me. “I don’t know how to live without you, but I will try to make sure that there, up there, you are happy and proud of me,” he wrote from exile.
Navalny stood out among Russian dissidents after a campaign in which he denounced rampant corruption at the top of Putin’s administration.
He was arrested in January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated for poisoning.
“Alexei was tortured for three years,” Navalnaya said Thursday before the European Parliament.
“They starved him in a tiny stone cell, isolated him from the outside world and denied him visits, phone calls and even letters,” he charged.
“And then they killed him. And even afterward, they mistreated his body,” he added.
“Your ideas will not disappear”
The diplomatic delegation of the European Union (EU) in Moscow participated in the funeral with the conviction that his ideas “will not disappear.”
”The EU expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Alexei Navalny at his funeral. The EU ambassador and other diplomats pay their respects,” said the high community representative for Foreign and Security Affairs, Josep Borrell, on the X social network.
The Spanish politician emphasized that “Navalny’s convictions will not disappear: ideas cannot be tortured, poisoned or murdered. “He remains an inspiration to many in Russia and beyond.”
”Our message is one of total solidarity with his family and his work for a better Russia,” said the community Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Peter Stano, during the daily press conference of the European Commission.
#Thousands #people #fired #Russian #opposition #leader #Alexei #Navalny #warnings #Putins #government #Diario #Página
