buring the farewell of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalnyj, who died in a prison camp, people openly protested against President Vladimir Putin. “Russia without Putin!”, “Putin is a murderer!”, “Russia will be free!” and “No to war!” people chanted in chorus, as reporters from the German Press Agency reported on Friday. They spoke of a tense atmosphere given the large number of uniformed officers from the Omon special police.
In a live stream on YouTube, Navalny's team showed thousands of people shouting “Nawalny, Navalny, Navalny” behind barriers made of metal bars. They chanted: “We do not forget. We don’t forgive.” Many of the calls come from Navalny, who once brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets to protest against the Kremlin while free. Navalny's employees called on people to remain calm.
The brown coffin was transported to the funeral, which was scheduled for 4 p.m. (2 p.m. CET) at the Borisovskoye cemetery, after the funeral service in the church. Thousands of people walked about half an hour to the cemetery.
Farewell at the open coffin
Navalny's relatives had previously said goodbye to the open coffin in the church. Navalny's team showed in a live stream on YouTube how the body lay covered in flowers in the coffin, surrounded by numerous people during the service. Alexei Navalnyj's face was also visible. His mother, holding a candle, and his father sat at the coffin during the ceremony.
The widow Yulia Navalnaya, the daughter Daria and the son Zakhar did not attend the funeral service because they are abroad for their own safety. Navalny's wife had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of murdering her husband. She would risk being arrested in Russia. Navalnyj's team is also not in the country because his employees, who are considered extremists, would also be arrested immediately.
The relatives of the Kremlin opponent who died two weeks ago received the 47-year-old's body in the morgue in Moscow in the morning with a delay for burial. They were there at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. CET), but at first they didn't get the body and then they were late, Navalny's team said on Friday.
Despite a large presence of police and security forces, thousands of people had gathered hours before the funeral. Many carried flowers in their hands.
Unprecedented threatening backdrop
Ambassadors from Western nations were among those gathered. A picture shows, among others, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (Germany), Pierre Levy (France) and Lynne Tracy (USA).
Russia's power apparatus has set up an unprecedented threatening backdrop for the mourners at the church and cemetery ahead of the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalnyj planned for this Friday. 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. The newspaper “Bild” reported that armed police officers had taken up positions on the roofs around the church.
According to observers, Navalny, who was considered Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's most important opponent, is putting the power apparatus under extreme tension even after his death. Strong security forces had recently arrested hundreds of mourners as they laid flowers. Putin's authorities fear that supporters of Navalnyj, who died in a prison camp two weeks ago, could protest. Putin wants to be confirmed as president in an election in two weeks. Navalny's supporters, relatives and human rights activists accuse Putin of deliberately killing the Russian opposition leader in custody. The Kremlin rejects this.
“Come to accompany Alexei Navalnyj 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, who himself lives in exile and was a close confidant of the Kremlin opponent. Navalny's team wants to follow the funeral live on the Internet.
According to authorities, Navalnyj 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.
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