Thousands of mourners gathered in front of a church in Moscow as the funeral service for Russia’s most prominent Putin critic, Alexei Navalny, began.
Crowds were heard shouting “Navalny, Navalny!” when the hearse carrying his coffin arrived at the Quench My Sorrows church in the Maryino district, where the late opposition leader used to live, on Friday.
A long queue formed, under a heavy police presence, near the church where Navalny, who died last month in a notorious “Polar Wolf” penal colony in the Russian Arctic, was being remembered before his burial at a cemetery about a mile and a half away.
Russian authorities claim Navalny fell unconscious and died suddenly aged 47 after a walk. His team and his widow, Yulia, have accused Vladimir Putin of murdering him.
Western diplomats, including ambassadors from the US, Germany and France were also present on Friday. The Kremlin had earlier warned that any unsanctioned gatherings in support of the late Russian opposition would be met with arrests.
Navalny’s allies have accused President Vladimir Putin of having him murdered because the Russian leader could allegedly not tolerate the thought of Navalny being freed in a potential prisoner swap.
They have not published proof to back up that accusation, but have promised to set out how he was murdered and by whom.
The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death and has said it is unaware of any agreement to free Navalny. His death certificate – according to allies – said he died of natural causes.
Navalny, a former lawyer, mounted the most determined political challenge against Putin since the Russian leader came to power at the end of 1999, organising street protests and publishing high-profile investigations into the alleged corruption of some in the ruling elite.
⚡️ People chant 'Navalny' outside the church and sing a memorial service
But a series of criminal charges for fraud and extremism – which Navalny said were politically-motivated – saw him handed jail sentences of over 30 years and most of his supporters have either fled the country or are in jail.
Navalny decided to return to Russia from Germany in 2021 after being treated for what Western doctors said was poisoning with a nerve agent only to be immediately taken into custody.
Putin, who controls all the levers of state and is expected to be comfortably re-elected for another six-year term in two weeks, has yet to comment on Navalny’s death and has for years avoided mentioning him by name.
Though Navalny is well known in the West, state TV inside Russia did not mention him for years either and when it did it was brief and in a negative light.
He was then buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, around 2.5 km (1.5 miles) away on the other side of the Moskva River two hours later.
