Alexei Navalny’s Final Farewell: Funeral Service Scheduled for Friday

The leader of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny, passed away earlier this month in a remote Arctic prison colony. His spokeswoman announced that the funeral will be held in Moscow on Friday. Several locations declined to host the service.

Kira Yarmysh announced on Wednesday that his funeral would take place on Friday afternoon at a church in the southeast Maryino neighborhood of Moscow. There will be a burial in a neighboring cemetery.

Midway through February, Navalny passed away in one of Russia’s most severe prisons. The cause of his death at the age of 47, according to Russian authorities, is still unknown, and any investigation’s findings will likely continue to be contested outside the country. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has already been accused by numerous Western politicians of being to blame for his demise.

Yarmysh discussed the challenges his group faced in locating a location for a “farewell event” in honor of Navalny.

She reported that most venues claimed to be completely booked in a post on X, Some venues even went so far as to “refuse when we mention the surname ‘Navalny,'” while another revealed that “funeral agencies were forbidden to work with us.”

The funeral arrangements were announced shortly before Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Navalny, gave a speech to European legislators in Strasbourg.

She stated during her speech at the European Parliament that her husband will be buried on Friday and that she was afraid the police could become involved.

“I’m not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,” she said.

Navalnaya said her husband’s death “showed everyone that Putin is capable of anything, and that you cannot negotiate with him.”

In introducing Navalnaya, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, paid tribute to Navalny.

“For many in Russia and outside, he represented hope. Hope in better days. Hope in a free Russia. Hope in the future,” she said.

After more than two decades of marriage, Navalnaya stood by her husband throughout the largest demonstrations in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Source: AP, February 28, 2024 WMUR9.