Russians defy fear to attend Navalny’s funeral en masse

Thousands of Russians participated this Friday in the funeral of the opposition leader Alexei Navalnydespite strict police measures and warnings from authorities about the consequences of participating in unauthorized acts.

”Navalni was the conscience of the nation. And although I am afraid, I have chosen conscience over fear and that is why I am here,” Svetlana, 65, told EFE, for whom the legacy of the opponent, who was 47 years old, “will not die.”

Another Muscovite assured that Navalny “was a good person and not just a good politician.” “People followed him because he not only told the truth but he believed in what he said,” he said.

Politicians and diplomats attend the funeral

Among the personalities who attended the funeral were Yevgeny Roizman, former mayor of the Ural city of Yekaterinburg, as well as some foreign diplomats, including the ambassadors of the United States, Germany and France.

Boris Nadezhdin, a candidate for the Russian Presidency, recently vetoed by the Electoral Commission of this country, also attended Navalny’s farewell in a church in the southeast of the Russian capital.

“People are afraid, but they want to overcome it,” the opposition politician told EFE.

Nadezhdin assured that Navalny’s death is “a tragic event for millions of Russians who supported him.”

“We had a common goal, that democracy triumphed in Russia and that Russia becomes a normal country”he assured.

Large police deployment

Navalni’s farewell took place amid strict security measures and an unprecedented police deployment in the Mariino neighborhood.

Both next to the temple, where the burning chapel was installed, and in the cemetery, metal fences and a strong police force were installed.

In addition, multiple surveillance cameras and other devices that can serve as internet and mobile phone signal inhibitors were placed on the cemetery lampposts.

The thousands of followers of Navalny They waited patiently with flowers in their hands for the arrival of the coffin and when the politician’s body was introduced into the church they began to chant his name.

Later, pacifist cries could be heard such as “You were not afraid, and neither were we” and “No to war.”

After the wake in the church, which lasted just over half an hour, without the majority of those gathered being able to access the interior of the temple, the politician’s body was transferred to the Borisovo cemetery for burial.

The funeral live

The long line of people who came to the Orthodox temple in the Moscow neighborhood of Mariino was shown by Navalny’s team on their social networks.

”Come say goodbye to Alexei Navalni if ​​you are in Moscow. Those who for various reasons are not there to be able to do it will thank you,” wrote one of Navalny’s collaborators Leonid Volkov, currently in exile, in X.

At 12:00 p.m. (09:00 GMT) the allies of the deceased politician also began a live broadcast from the place of the farewell.

Borisovo, a discreet and ancient cemetery

The Borisovo cemetery, where Navalny will be buried at 4:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT), covers an area of ​​4 hectares and is one of the oldest cemeteries in Moscow, with a history dating back to 1550.

The cemetery does not house many personalities. Among the best-known tombs are those of the Soviet artist Yuri Sherstnev or the scientist Guennadi Arakelov.

The Troyekurovskoye cemetery, in the west of Moscow, was another of the places that was considered in the press to host the body of Navalny.

Numerous Russian personalities, including military personnel, artists, cosmonauts and politicians, are buried there, including the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, murdered in 2015.

Kremlin warnings

The Kremlin warned today that those who participate in unauthorized demonstrations in tribute to the deceased opponent will be punished.

”We want to remember that there is a law that must be followed: any unauthorized assembly will constitute a violation of the law,” said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in his daily press conference.

Peskov thus responded to a question about the intention of Navalny’s followers to organize events in his memory throughout the country and abroad.

The spokesperson of Kremlin He also did not want to evaluate Navalni’s figure as a politician or send a message to the opponent’s family, something that journalists asked him during the press conference.

The opponent’s team published a list of cities around the world where ceremonies for the Russian politician were planned today.

“We call on you to place flowers at memorials (to Navalni) around the world,” says a message from the politician’s team, accompanied by the list of cities that will participate in the farewell and which include Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, among them. others.

Those close to and co-religionists of Navalni, winner of the 2021 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Conscience from the European Parliament, directly accuse the president of Russia, Vladimir Putinto order what they consider the “murder” of the opponent, founder.