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Prying Russia from the grip of Putin was Alexei Navalny’s reason for living and ultimately the reason he died. So it’s no surprise that his funeral, which was held today in Moscow, turned into a kind of anti-Putin rally with numerous chants that, on a normal day, would lead to arrests and prison.
‼️ “Ukranians are good people!”
Wow! I didn’t expect to hear this at Navalny’s funeral.
I’m kinda speechless…#Navalny #NavalnyFuneral #Russia #Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar pic.twitter.com/dh0xMZlC2X— Natalka (@NatalkaKyiv) March 1, 2024
Here’s another one heard today:
BREAKING:
The thousands of Russians attending Navalny’s funeral in Moscow today are chanting the most forbidden words in Russia:
“No to the war” pic.twitter.com/l46GKTvjTO— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 1, 2024
Since Navalny’s death was announced, authorities seem determined to avoid letting his funeral become a public spectacle.
From the moment Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, traveled to the penal colony north of the Arctic Circle where he died a sudden death in mid-February, she said Russian authorities had tried to blackmail her into staging a nonpublic funeral.
First, they refused to hand her Navalny’s body. Then, Navalny’s allies could not find a venue which would agree to host the funeral. On Thursday, it suddenly became impossible to find a hearse to carry his body to the church.
Putin, who famously refuses to call Navalny by his name, appears to have decided his political foe should disappear underground enshrouded in silence.
The size of the service was limited but police seemed to have been told not to interfere with the crowd.
