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Alexei Navalny: Crowds chant and clap as Putin critic's hearse arrives for funeral

The Kremlin has urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any "unauthorised (mass) gatherings" are violations.

Friday 1 March 2024 15:26, UK

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Alexei Navalny's coffin arrives
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Thousands of people have gathered in Moscow for Alexei Navalny's funeral despite the risk of arrest - with crowds clapping and chanting his name as his body was being carried inside the church.

The funeral of the prominent Vladimir Putin critic, whose death was announced on 16 February, is being held under heavy police presence.

Hundreds waited for hours to enter the Soothe My Sorrows church and the release of Mr Navalny's body from the morgue where it was being held was briefly delayed.

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People gather near the Soothe My Sorrows church, where a funeral service and a farewell ceremony for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny are held, in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
Image: People gather near the Soothe My Sorrows church where funeral took place. Pic: Reuters
People walk towards the Borisovskoye cemetery during the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
Image: People walking towards the Borisovskoye cemetery. Pic: Reuters

After the hearse arrived at the church, the crowd applauded and chanted: "Alexei! Alexei!"

Once the service began, his foundation released an image of the open casket from inside the church.

Mourners gathered around Mr Navalny's body which was covered with red and white flowers.

Alexei Navalny funeral
Image: Navalny lies in an open casket with his parents in close attendance

Crowds then marched from the church to the Borisovskoye cemetery where a burial ceremony started just before 1pm UK time.

Some were heard chanting: "Love is more powerful than fear."

A handful of supporters were allowed into the cemetery to throw earth onto Mr Navalny's coffin.

It was then lowered into the grave to the song My Way by Frank Sinatra, his spokeswoman said.

Anatoly Navalny, right, and Lyudmila Navalnaya, parents of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny walk to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny are bidding farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeastern Moscow, following a battle with authorities over the release of his body after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
Image: Navalny's parents. Pic: Reuters

The Kremlin urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any "unauthorised (mass) gatherings" are violations.

His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was pictured sitting beside the casket holding a candle, while his father was also present at the service.

Workers prepare a grave where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny due to be buried at the Borisovskoye Cemetery, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny are bidding farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeastern Moscow, following a battle with authorities over the release of his body after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
Image: Workers prepare the burial site. Pic: AP

'I don't know how to live without you'

Yulia Navalnaya, Mr Navalny's widow thanked her husband for "26 years of absolute happiness" in a statement posted on social media.

She, the couple's two children and Navalny's closest allies have left Russia because they are considered to be part of an extremist organisation by the Kremlin.

"Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness," the statement read. "Yes, even over the last three years of happiness. For love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for the fact that you always thought about me."

FILE PHOTO: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia attend a hearing at the LublinAG百家乐在线官网 district court in Moscow, Russia, April 23, 2015. REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo
Image: Navalny and his wife in 2015. Pic: Reuters

"I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don't know if I can handle it or not, but I will try."

The tribute was accompanied by a video montage of the two of them together.

Mrs Navalnaya watched the funeral via footage streamed live on her husband's YouTube channel.

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Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event for Mr Navalny and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead just metres from the Kremlin, as he walked home in February 2015.

Pic: Reuters A hearse, which reportedly transports a coffin with the body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, is parked outside the Soothe My Sorrows church before a funeral service and farewell ceremony in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer
Image: Some were heard chanting 'love is more powerful than fear'. Pic: Reuters

The Kremlin cited COVID-19 restrictions for preventing the event, according to politician Yekaterina Duntsova.

Mr Navalny died at a penal colony within the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges his supporters said were politically motivated.

People gather outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny are bidding farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeastern Moscow, following a battle with authorities over the release of his body after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP Photo)
Image: Pic: AP

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The circumstances of Mr Navalny's death remain unclear - but several world leaders, including Joe Biden, have directly blamed Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.

Mrs Navalnaya has also pointed the finger at the Russian president, claiming her husband could have been poisoned with novichok.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement in his death.

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