Massive police presence
The power apparatus creates a threatening backdrop at Navalny’s funeral
March 1, 2024, 10:12 a.m
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The Russian authorities cordoned off a large area around the memorial service for Alexei Navalny. Hours before the start, passersby are searched and the internet is turned down.
Before the planned funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, Russia’s power apparatus created an unprecedented threatening backdrop for the mourners at the church and cemetery. Metal grilles were set up over a wide area, dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed officers took up positions early in the morning, and uniformed officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by, as Russian media reported. The mobile internet was also turned down. According to reports, there was a notice hanging on the church not to film or take photographs.
According to observers, Navalny, who was the most prominent opponent of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, is putting the power apparatus under extreme tension even after his death. The funeral service in the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Relieve my grief” in the southeastern district of Marjino is scheduled for 12 p.m. The funeral is scheduled for two hours later at Borisovskoye Cemetery.
Security forces had recently arrested hundreds of mourners as they laid flowers. Putin’s authorities fear that supporters of Navalny, who died in a prison camp two weeks ago, could protest against the Kremlin chief. Putin wants to be confirmed as president in elections in two weeks. Supporters and relatives of Navalny as well as human rights activists accuse Putin of deliberately killing the Russian opposition leader in custody. The Kremlin rejects this.
German ambassador takes part in Navalny’s farewell
“Come to accompany Alexei Navalny on his final journey when you are in Moscow. Everyone who cannot be there for various reasons will thank you,” said opposition figure Leonid Volkov, himself in exile and a close one was a confidant of the Kremlin opponent. Navalny’s team wants to follow the funeral live on the Internet. The German ambassador to Russia, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, also wants to be present.
According to authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in the penal camp with the unofficial name “Arctic Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death are not clear. The politician, weakened by the poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed during a tour of the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him. According to Navalny’s team, the death certificate mentions “natural” causes.