As of: March 2, 2024, 11:32 a.m
By: Mike Schier
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Russia, Moscow: Anatoly Navalny (lr) and Lyudmila Navalnaya, the parents of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, say goodbye to their son at the open coffin in the church in honor of the Mother of God icon “Relieve my grief” during the funeral service for Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny.
© dpa
Despite warnings from the Kremlin, thousands of people came to the memorial service for Alexei Navalny on Friday.
It was a demonstration against Putin - but it is not the start of a broad movement.
Moscow - Shortly before the funeral, the regime in Russia flexed its muscles again: After anonymous threats, no undertaker was initially found who wanted to transport Alexei Navalny's coffin to the cemetery.
How inhumane!
Given these circumstances, it was surprising how many people had the courage to say goodbye to the regime opponent on Friday.
Navalny funeral as a demonstration against Putin
This memorial service was, above all, a demonstration against Vladimir Putin.
The slogan “No to war!” had hardly been heard recently.
No wonder: There were repeated reports that opponents of the war were being sent directly to the front by Vladimir Putin.
On Friday a courage of desperation emerged that one can only admire.
At the same time, however, people in the West should be careful not to interpret this as the beginning of a broad movement.
There have always been critics of Putin.
But open protest is usually limited to the big cities.
Even if the official surveys cannot be trusted, the state's constant propaganda has probably left its mark in the vast empire.
And in view of the harsh repression of the security forces, critical minds often retreat into private life.
Alexei Navalny's widow stayed away from the funeral
It's also interesting who didn't come to the funeral: Navalny's widow.
Julia Navalnaya has announced that she wants to continue her husband's work.
With her performances she is on the way to becoming the new icon of the resistance.
But she obviously didn't want to repeat his mistake.
Alexei made his way to Moscow after the poisoning attempt.
It was his last day of freedom.