Police watch, remain inactive
Fearless Russians continue to visit Navalny’s grave
March 3, 2024, 10:57 a.m
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The funeral procession for Navalny’s funeral on Friday is surprisingly large. But people also come to the opposition activist’s grave on weekends, mourn and lay flowers. Security forces are always on site – but they do not intervene.
After the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp, people continued to say goodbye to him at his grave at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow over the weekend, despite the police presence. Uniformed police and National Guard personnel as well as cemetery employees allowed mourners to linger at the grave unhindered and lay flowers.
Lots of younger and older people came; Couples supporting each other and entire families with children came to lay flowers at the grave located just at the entrance. Many people cried, some hugged each other.
A cardboard sign read: “Heroes don’t die. Alexei, thank you!” There were also many wreaths at the grave, some of them children’s toys. A Russian Orthodox cross with a photo of a smiling Alexei Navalny rose from the sea of flowers. On Saturday, his mother and mother-in-law were also at the 47-year-old’s grave again. According to authorities, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s opponent died on February 16 in a prison camp in the polar region.
Navalny’s team doesn’t want to give up
Navalny’s team thanked the brave people. After the funeral, his employees emphasized once again that the fight of the opposition, who had fled into exile abroad, against corruption and Putin’s power apparatus would continue. Navalny’s legacy will remain alive “as long as there are millions of people in Russia and the world who are not indifferent to it. That is why we must not give up.”
On the day of Navalny’s funeral, there were mourning events across the country and dozens of arrests. The civil rights portal ovd.info reported on Sunday morning that the number of arrests was 105, spread across 22 cities, including around 20 people in Novosibirsk alone.
In Moscow, thousands of people gathered at the church and cemetery for the funeral service on Friday. Many chanted “Putin is a murderer!” and “Russia without Putin.” Relatives, supporters and human rights activists accuse Putin of murdering his opponent in the prison camp.
The circumstances of Navalny’s death remain unclear. The politician, who was weakened by a poison attack in 2020 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 supposedly “natural” causes.