Putin opponent Alexei Navalny will be buried in Moscow; mourners risk being arrested

Two weeks after his unexpected death at the age of 47 in an Arctic prison colony, opposition figure Alexei Navalny of Russia is scheduled to be buried in Moscow on Friday, amidst heavy security and concerns about a police crackdown.

President Vladimir Putin is claimed to have ordered Navalny’s assassination because the Russian president could not stand the idea of Navalny being released in a possible prisoner swap. Navalny’s allies have promised to livestream the day’s activities online.

They have promised to detail the manner and identity of his murderer, but they have not yet released any evidence to support that claim.

The Kremlin has stated that it is not aware of any arrangement to release Navalny and has denied state participation in his death. Allies claim that his death certificate said that he passed away from natural reasons.

At 2:00 PM local time, a religious service honoring Navalny is scheduled to take place at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, located in the Maryino neighborhood of Moscow, where Navalny formerly resided.

Two hours later, he is supposed to be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, which is located around 2.5 kilometers away across the Moskva River.

Allies of Navalny, who are outside of Russia and have been labeled by the authorities as radicals sponsored by the US, have asked those who wish to pay tribute to him but are unable to attend his funeral to instead visit certain locations in their own towns on Friday night at 7 p.m. local time.

The Kremlin has cautioned that the police will enforce the law and condemned remarks made by his associates as inflammatory.

Based on past Navalny supporter meetings, a significant police presence is anticipated, and the government will disband anything that they believe to be a political demonstration in violation of protest legislation.

On Friday morning, there was tight security at the church, which had several police cars parked close by and was encircled by metal crash barriers.

Navalny had two children with Yulia, his wife, but she has expressed doubts about whether the funeral would go smoothly or if people will be arrested by the police. She is not in Russia.

Lyudmila, Navalny’s 69-year-old mother, is anticipated at his funeral. Who else will be permitted in to the church for the ceremony is unknown.

Rights groups have instructed individuals who wish to come to bring tiny water bottles and their passports, as well as a list of the names and contact information of attorneys who can represent them should they be arrested and the area’s cell service be turned off.

A devout Christian, Navalny denounced Putin’s move to commit tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine as an insane endeavor based on fabrications. However, the church that will conduct his funeral has publicly supported the war and made donations to the Russian army.

His allies alleged in the days leading up to his funeral that they were being prevented from holding a larger civic mourning service by the authorities, and that they had even been prevented from hiring a hearse to take him to his own funeral by unidentified individuals.

On Friday, they stated that as of right now, they saw no issues with the itinerary they had laid out for participants and once more urged those who wished to bid Navalny farewell to join them.

The funeral plans for Navalny are unrelated to the Kremlin, according to their statement.

Former lawyer Navalny organized street rallies and published high-profile investigations into the purported corruption of some members of the ruling class, mounting the most formidable electoral threat to Putin since the Russian president took office at the end of 1999.

However, Navalny was given jail sentences of more than 30 years for a series of criminal charges for fraud and extremism, which he claimed were politically motivated. The majority of his supporters have also either left the country or are in jail.

After receiving treatment in Germany in 2021 for what Western physicians believed to be nerve agent poisoning, Navalny made the decision to return to Russia, only to be detained right away.

Putin, who has all the power and is certain to win a resounding six-year term in two weeks, has not spoken to Navalny’s passing and has long refrained from addressing him by name.

Even though Navalny is well-known in the West, Russian official television avoided discussing him for years, and when it did, it was only briefly and negatively.