![[EN IMAGES] Russia: Thousands of people at Navalny's funeral](https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/a3c0f000-d7bf-11ee-a774-074dcbf79edf_ORIGINAL.jpg?impolicy=crop-resize&x=0&y=62&w=1200&h=675&width=1200)
Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was buried today, Friday, in a Moscow cemetery in the presence of thousands of his supporters who came to pay tribute to the main critic of the Kremlin, who died under mysterious circumstances in an Arctic prison.
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Navalny's supporters present in large numbers, carrying flowers, some with tears or tears in their eyes, chanted, “No to war!”, “We will not forget you!” Or even “We will not forgive.”
After a short ceremony in the church in the presence of his parents, during which the remains of Alexei Navalny were displayed in an open coffin according to Orthodox rituals, the competitor was buried in the Borisovo cemetery, in the southeast of the country. The capital, according to Agence France-Presse journalists.
During the funeral, the soundtrack for the movie “Terminator 2,” which the competitor described as “the best movie ever,” said its spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh.
In the church, his body was displayed for the first time in front of the public, covered with dozens of red and white flowers, while attendees carried candles, according to what an Agence France-Presse journalist noted.
France Press agency
Those who managed to enter the small church were able to see the pale face and distorted features of Alexei Navalny. The carriage carrying his coffin had arrived moments earlier to the applause of the audience.
Outside the church, a large crowd of several thousand people had gathered, forming a very long line. Riot police were present in large numbers and placed barriers in the area.
France Press agency
“It's painful, people like him should not die, people who are honorable, principled, and ready to sacrifice themselves,” says Anna Stepanova, also emphasizing the opponent's “sense of humour.” “Even in pain, he would tell jokes.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of possible penalties if participating in any “unlicensed” demonstration on the occasion of this funeral. Mr. Peskov also stressed during his daily press conference that he had “nothing to say” to the family of the deceased.
“To live without you”
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, thanked her husband for “these 26 years of absolute happiness,” in a farewell message she posted on social media.
“I don't know how I will live without you, but I will do my best to make sure you are happy and proud of me there,” she said. “i love you forever.”
Alexei Navalny, a Kremlin critic and charismatic anti-corruption activist, died on February 16 at the age of 47 in a Russian penal colony in the Arctic under circumstances that remain mysterious. His aides, Yulia Navalnaya and the West, have accused Vladimir Putin of responsibility for his death, which the Kremlin denies.
France Press agency
After delaying the release of Mr. Navalny's remains to his loved ones, Russian authorities finally did so last weekend, allowing the funeral to take place.
The American ambassador and the French and German ambassadors visited the site, in addition to three opposition figures who are still at large: Evgeny Rozman, Boris Nadezhdin, and Ekaterina Dontsova.
France Press agency
According to Maxim, a 43-year-old computer scientist who came to honor the opponent who asked to remain anonymous, Alexei Navalny “demonstrated freedom.”
Denis, 26, a charity volunteer, welcomes a man thanks to whom he has become “interested in politics”, in an increasingly authoritarian regime where young people's disinterest in political issues is very strong.
France Press agency
Since Alexei Navalny's body was handed over to his mother on Saturday, the rival team has been looking for a place for a “public farewell” but any request has been “rejected”, accusing the authorities of putting pressure on the managers.
“The Kremlin killed him”
However, his team called on Muscovites to come and bid farewell to Alexei Navalny and his supporters in other cities and abroad to gather in front of memorials to honor his memory. Awkward rallies for those in power, two weeks before the presidential elections (March 15-17), that are supposed to extend Vladimir Putin's reign in power.
France Press agency
Police arrested nearly 400 people in the days following the opponent's death, during impromptu marches to commemorate him.
On Wednesday, Yulia Navalnaya expressed her regret that a civil ceremony had not been allowed to allow her husband's body to be unveiled to a wider public, as is often the case after the deaths of high-ranking figures in Russia.
She criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin for being responsible for this situation, saying: “People killed him in the Kremlin, then trampled his body, then trampled his mother, and now they trampled his memory.”
Before his poisoning in 2020, from which he narrowly escaped and was accused by Vladimir Putin, and then his arrest and sentencing to 19 years in prison on charges of “extremism,” Alexei Navalny was able to mobilize crowds, especially in the Russian capital.
France Press agency
His movement, which relied on investigations denouncing corruption by Russian elites, has been systematically dismantled in recent years, sending many of its collaborators to prison or into exile.
After her husband's death, Yulia Navalnaya promised to continue her struggle.
