First, Navalny’s supporters had to look for the Kremlin opponent’s body in Russia, then for a place for the funeral service. Now he seems to have been found. The funeral is scheduled to take place in just a few days.
According to his team, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp, will be buried in Moscow this Friday. On March 1, there should first be a funeral service in a church in the southeastern district of Marjino and then the burial of the body in the Borisovskoye cemetery, wrote Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch on the X platform. Previously, Navalny’s supporters had been looking for a place for the funeral service for days wanted and complained that they were hindered by the Russian authorities.
According to Russian Orthodox tradition, it is actually customary to bury the dead after three days and to lay out their bodies beforehand so that mourners can say goodbye. However, a hall for such a farewell ritual was not made available, wrote Ivan Zhdanov, the director of the anti-corruption fund founded by Navalny. He published a corresponding letter from a municipal company to Navalny’s mother on “The scumbags,” he complained, referring to state representatives and the many obstacles they put in the way of relatives. According to custom, Navalny’s body would have to be laid out in the church at least during the memorial service.
Widow Navalnaya: I don’t know whether things will remain peaceful
Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya is worried that there could be violence and arrests at her husband’s upcoming funeral. “The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I don’t know yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who came to say goodbye to my husband,” Navalnaya said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Navalnaya accused Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin of being a “bloody mafioso”. He could not be harmed by another resolution or another set of sanctions that were no different from the previous ones. “Putin is the leader of an organized criminal gang, including poisoners,” she said. “We all have to fight the criminal gang.”
Navalny’s mother complains: Blackmailed into agreeing to a secret burial
According to official information, Navalny died on February 16 at the age of just 47 in a prison camp north of the Arctic Circle. The sharp critic of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was physically very weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and constant solitary confinement in the camp. His supporters and many international observers therefore agree that there can be no question of a “natural” cause of death, as is stated on the death certificate.
What also caused particular horror was that the authorities initially kept Navalny’s body under lock and key for around a week and his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, had to search for the body in the polar region together with a lawyer. Navalnaya also complained that she was harassed by investigators and blackmailed into agreeing to a secret burial. But she didn’t do that – instead she publicly demanded that relatives and supporters should have the opportunity to say goodbye to her son.
Finally, Navalny’s team declared that they wanted to organize a location for the funeral service. However, the search has been, as expected, difficult in the past few days. Shortly before the presidential election on March 17th, any major critical events are a thorn in the side of the Kremlin. Hundreds of people were recently arrested while laying flowers for Navalny.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
