The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny took place in Moscow on Saturday, drawing mourners including his mother and mother-in-law who paid their respects at his grave. The funeral followed a massive display of dissent the day before, with thousands gathering to honor Navalny after his recent death in an Arctic penal colony.
Despite a heavy police presence at the cemetery, the situation remained calm as people were allowed to bid farewell to the politician without interference. However, reports emerged of spontaneous memorials to Navalny being destroyed in various Russian cities, including St. Petersburg and Voronezh.
During the funeral, mourners chanted slogans in support of Navalny and against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine. While police did not intervene, over 100 people were reportedly detained at events across Russia in Navalny's memory, most of them while trying to lay flowers at monuments dedicated to victims of Soviet repression.
Navalny was laid to rest after a brief Russian Orthodox ceremony, with crowds gathering outside the church and then proceeding to his grave with flowers. Notably, Navalny's widow, Yulia, was absent from the funeral but expressed her commitment to continuing his work and thanked him for their years together.
The funeral was preceded by a dispute over the release of Navalny's body, with his team facing challenges in finding a church willing to host the service for the prominent anti-corruption activist. Western leaders have condemned Navalny's death and pointed fingers at the Russian government, a claim vehemently denied by the Kremlin.
