MOSCOW: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday, surrounded by crowds of mourners who chanted his name and blamed authorities for his death in prison.
Outside the cemetery where he was buried, some supporters shouted in grief while others yelled out slogans against the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine.
Despite a heavy police presence and official warnings, thousands of mourners paid their respects to the 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner whose death in an Arctic prison was announced on Feb 16.
Navalny’s body first lay in an open casket in a packed church in Maryino, southern Moscow, for a ceremony attended by his parents.
The coffin was closed immediately after the service, meaning many mourners who had wanted to file past were not able to pay their last respects at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church.
It was transported to the Borisovo cemetery, near the banks of the Moskva River, where several large wreaths were arranged around the grave.
“We won’t forget you!”, “Forgive us!” some mourners shouted as the coffin arrived.
“No to war!” some also chanted while others yelled “Down with the power of murderers!” and “We will not forgive!”.
Rights monitoring group OVD-Info said police had arrested at least 128 people attending tributes to Navalny in 19 cities across Russia on Friday.
“Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to TASS news agency.
“What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?” one mourner, Anna Stepanova, told AFP outside the church.
“The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn’t either.” Music from “Terminator 2” — Navalny’s favourite film — was played as the coffin was lowered, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.
Navalny’s daughter Dasha Navalnaya paid tribute to her “hero” father in a post on Instagram, writing that “You always have been and always will be my role model”.
The dissident’s widow Yulia Navalnaya, who did not attend the ceremony after saying earlier this week in France that she feared disruption and arrests of participants, also took to social media.
“I don’t know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don’t know if I’ll make it or not, but I’ll try,” she said.
“I love you forever. Rest in peace,” she wrote. – AFP
