Thousands of Russians gathered on March 1 to attend the funeral of Alexei Navalny, a prominent opposition figure who died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony. Surrounded by police, mourners chanted Navalny’s name outside the Moscow church where the funeral took place. Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, passed away suddenly on Feb. 16, sparking allegations from his supporters and Western leaders that he was murdered by Russian authorities. The Kremlin has denied any state involvement in his death, which is still under investigation. According to Navalny’s supporters, his death certificate attributes his passing to natural causes. A photo on social media showed Navalny’s body in a flower-strewn coffin, with his grieving parents nearby. Unfortunately, Navalny’s wife and children who reside outside Russia were unable to attend the event.
Following a service led by an Orthodox priest, the coffin was carried from the church as mourners shouted anti-Putin slogans and expressed their grief. The funeral procession proceeded to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where Navalny was laid to rest. Over a quarter of a million people watched the funeral on Navalny’s YouTube channel, blocked in Russia, and shared messages of sorrow and defiance. In the days leading up to the funeral, Russian supporters of Navalny accused authorities of interfering with their plans for a larger service. The Kremlin had labeled Navalny’s movement as extremist and portrayed his supporters as foreign agents intent on destabilizing Russia.
Navalny had been a vocal critic of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and had been sentenced to multiple years in prison on what his supporters claim were politically motivated charges. Despite his challenges to Putin’s rule, the Russian leader rarely acknowledged Navalny by name while he was alive and has not released a public statement on his death. Just before the funeral, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned against unauthorized gatherings in honor of Navalny, stating that participants would face consequences. It remains to be seen how Navalny’s legacy will live on in the fight against corruption and suppression in Russia.