Thousands of his supporters Alexei Navalny gathered today to pay their last respects to the Kremlin critic at the church in Moscow where the funeral service was held, despite the risk of arrest.
The hearse with the coffin of the main opposition to the Russian president Vladimir Putin he arrived around 13:50 local time (12:50 Greek time) in front of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, where he was applauded by the crowd, according to AFP reporters.
The mother of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnya, left, pays her last respects next to her son’s open coffin at Borisovskoye Cemetery, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bid farewell on Friday for Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
The representative of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov had warned earlier that any unauthorized gatherings in support of the Russian dissident would constitute a violation of the law, adding that he had not “nothing to say” to the family of the deceased.
According to AFP reporters there, a long line of several thousand people, under close police supervision, has formed since morning in front of the church in the Mariino district in the southeastern part of the capital, where Navalny lived when he was free.
“It’s painful, people like him shouldn’t die, honest, principled people, ready to sacrifice,” stated the Ana Stepanovaalso remembered “the humour” of. “Even when he was suffering, he was joking”he said.
People walk outside the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mother of God, after the funeral of Alexei Navalny, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after from a battle with the authorities to release his body after his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony.
The Kremlin critic and charismatic anti-corruption activist died suddenly on February 16 at the age of 47 in a Russian penal colony in the Arctic, under circumstances that have not been clarified. His associates, his widow Yulia Navalnaya and the West blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death, which the Kremlin denies.
Dozens of security forces have been deployed near the church, while authorities have also blocked the road leading from the temple to the cemetery with metal railings.
Nearly 400 people were arrested by police in the days following the Russian dissident’s death during spontaneous demonstrations in his memory.
Watch video from the funeral of Alexei Navalny
Funeral service of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny begins in Maryino on the outskirts of Moscow pic.twitter.com/SDwx3td3xg
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) March 1, 2024
People are applauding and shouting ‘Navalny!’ as the hearse carrying his body arrives at the church pic.twitter.com/0jNBEEmsqe
— Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) March 1, 2024
Crowds shout “#Navalny” when his body arrived to the church services pic.twitter.com/QxwwvKUBFW
— Guy Elster (@guyelster) March 1, 2024
“Fear and Sadness”
Among those waiting in line to pay their last respects to the deceased, some had tears in their eyes, while others held flowers.
Also present are ambassadors of France, Germany and the USAas well as three members of the opposition who remain free: o Yevgeny Roizman, The Boris Nadezdin and the Ekaterina Dutsova.
“We don’t have politicians like him anymore and nobody knows when we will again”a 55-year-old librarian, Maria, told AFP, saying she felt “fear and sadness” together.
Workers carry the coffin and a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny from the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mary “Redeem My Pains”, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the leader opposition at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after a battle with authorities to free his body following his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony.
Navalny “showed what freedom means”the 43-year-old IT scientist said at the same time Maximwho had also gone to say goodbye to the opposition and asked, like the preface, not to be named.
The 26-year-old Dennisa volunteer in a charity organization, greeted on his part a man thanks to whom “interested in politics”in an increasingly authoritarian regime where the lack of interest of young people in political matters is very pronounced.
People gather outside the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mary “Save My Sorrows”, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after a battle with authorities for the release of his body after his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony.
During the funeral service in the church Navalny’s body was exposed with the coffin open for his relatives while he will be buried in his cemetery Borisovskogewhich is nearby, on the other bank of the Moskhova River to the south.
After his death, his widow Yulia Navalnaya he promised to continue his fight.
A woman leaves flowers to pay her last respects to Alexei Navalny, in front of the Russian embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, Friday, March 1, 2024. Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bid farewell to Alexei Navalny on Friday at his funeral in Moscow after his still unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A policeman stands guard as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mary, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after a battle with authorities over release of his body after his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
A policeman stands guard as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mary, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after a battle with authorities over release of his body after his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
MAT police officers guard the area near the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mary “Save My Pains”, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after from a battle with the authorities to release his body after his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
Citizens gather outside the Church of the Icon of the Virgin Mary “Save my sorrows”, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny bid farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeast Moscow, after a battle with authorities for the release of his body after his still unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
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