As of: March 1, 2024, 7:18 p.m
By: Felix Durach
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The funeral of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will take place in Moscow on Friday.
Members of Kremlin opponents expect violence and arrests.
Update from February 29th, 3:14 p.m.:
The team of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in custody, has called on people to come to the memorial service and funeral of the opposition figure in Moscow this Friday, despite the expected police presence.
The funeral service in the church is planned for 2 p.m. local time (12 p.m. CET), and the funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery is scheduled for two hours later, Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysch said on Thursday (February 29).
Everyone to whom Navalny's political work meant something should come.
The walk from the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Relieve my sorrow” to the cemetery is therefore 28 minutes.
Demonstrators gather with signs in front of the Russian embassy after the death of Alexei Navalny.
The Russian opposition leader has died in a Russian prison, the Russian Penitentiary Service said.
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
Navalny's team wants to report live on the Internet about the memorial service in the southeastern Marjino district as well as about the funeral and recommended that guests arrive early.
A large security presence is expected - and there are fears that uniformed officers could block access to Navalny's supporters.
The widow Yulia Navalnaya also spread the call to come to the funeral service.
Yulia Navalnaya fears arrests at funeral
Update from February 28th, 1:26 p.m.:
Julia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, spoke today before the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.
Navalnaya also expressed concern that there could be violence and arrests at her husband's upcoming funeral.
"The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I don't know yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who came to say goodbye to my husband," Yulia Navalnaya said in the European Parliament.
“Bastards”: Navalny team rages after Putin’s harassment at funeral
Update from February 28th, 12:25 p.m.:
In a post on X, Alexei Navalny's team accused the Russian regime of deliberately making it more difficult to organize the funeral.
The original date for the funeral service was postponed because Russian President Putin had planned a speech that day.
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Funeral of Kremlin critic Navalny later this week
First report:
Frankfurt – Exactly two weeks after his death in the Siberian penal colony “Polarwolf”, Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny is to be buried in Moscow on Friday.
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh announced on Wednesday (February 28) that the funeral would take place on March 1 at the Borisov Cemetery in the Russian capital Moscow.
Alexei Navalny is scheduled to be buried in Moscow on Friday.
© IMAGO/Volha Shukaila
A funeral service for Alexei Navalny was previously planned at around 2 p.m. local time in a church in the Maryino district of Moscow.
The Kremlin critic's supporters had been looking for a place for the funeral service for days and complained that they were being hindered by the Russian authorities.
Funeral of Alexei Navalny in Russia: On Friday in Moscow – protests expected
Navalny's body was initially kept under lock and key by the Russian authorities after his death in the prison camp.
His mother Lyudmila Navalnaya therefore had to search for the body in the polar region together with a lawyer.
Navalnaya also complained that she was harassed by investigators and blackmailed into agreeing to a secret burial.
But she didn't do that - instead she publicly demanded that relatives and supporters should have the opportunity to say goodbye to her son.
However, as expected, the search has been difficult in the past few days.
Shortly before the upcoming election in Russia on March 17th, any major critical events are a thorn in the side of the Kremlin.
Hundreds of people were recently arrested while laying flowers for Navalny.
There are also likely to be larger protests at the funeral.
“Come early,” Navalny’s team wrote in a post on X, citing the impending rush.
(fd with dpa)