Alexei Navalny was buried today at the Borisovskoye Cemetery. Thousands of people came to bid him farewell, forming a line stretching two kilometers to the Console My Sorrows Temple, where the funeral service took place. Prior to the burial, the cemetery was cordoned off by police, with security forces stationed around the grave.
Following the service at the temple, which was also enclosed by metal fences, mourners dismantled the barriers and walked together behind the car carrying the coffin. At the cemetery, Navalny's parents said their final goodbyes, as the coffin was lowered into the grave to the melody of Frank Sinatra's My Way. As the coffin was laid to rest, the poignant final music from the movie Terminator filled the air.
People walking towards the Borisovskoye Cemetery
Photo by Agentstvo
Russian opposition figures, including Ekaterina Duntsova, Boris Nadezhdin, Yulia Galyamina, Nikolai Lyaskin, Konstantin Yankauskas, Evgeny Roizman, and members of the Yabloko party, came to pay their respects to Navalny. Additionally, the funeral was attended by dignitaries such as the US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy, the German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, the French Ambassador Pierre Levy, and diplomats from other European nations.
Inside the Console My Sorrows Temple, where the funeral service for Alexei Navalny took place
Photo by Meduza
On the day of Navalny's burial, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's press secretary, stated that the Kremlin had “nothing to say” to the family of the deceased politician. He also warned that “those participating in unauthorized actions on the day of Navalny's funeral would face legal consequences.”
Alexei Navalny was killed on February 16th. However, it wasn't until February 24th that his body was released to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya. On February 22nd, she learned from the medical report that her son's death was attributed to natural causes.
The day following Navalny's murder, Yulia Navalnaya recorded a video vowing to continue her husband's work:
“By taking Alexei's life, Putin has taken half of me, half of my heart, and my soul. But I still have the other half, urging me not to give up. I will carry on Alexei Navalny's mission, fighting for our country alongside you. And I urge you to stand by my side. To share not only the sorrow and endless pain that has enveloped us and would not let go. I ask you to share with me the rage. Anger and rage towards those who dared to steal our future.”