Alexey Navalny buried in Moscow

Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has been buried in Moscow, following a religious ceremony in the city’s Maryino district. Hundreds of his supporters, and a number of Western ambassadors, gathered outside the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrow on Friday afternoon.

The long-time protest leader died in prison last month of what has been reported as natural causes. He had been incarcerated at the ‘Polar Wolf’ colony, inside the Arctic Circle. His death sparked outrage in the West.

Footage showed Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, and others gathered around his open coffin inside the church. Amid tight security, a crowd of supporters shouted his name during the ceremony. Hundreds of them then followed the coffin to the Borisov cemetery, with many chanting political slogans.

A former Russian nationalist activist, Navalny first came to public attention as one of the leaders of the “Russian march,” a far-right rally previously held annually. He subsequently took a prominent role in the liberal-driven 2011-12 protests in Russia, which centered on Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square. In 2013, he won 27% of the vote in the Moscow mayoral election. 

He later established a broader movement which produced reports on alleged corruption, and attempted to take part in the 2018 presidential contest. 

In early 2021, Navalny was jailed over a long-standing fraud case involving French retailer Yves Rocher. The previous summer he had also attracted major international attention after allegedly being poisoned in Siberia, which led to his transfer to Germany. Upon returning to Russia, he was sentenced to the first of several prison terms. 

A native of Moscow, Navalny is survived by his wife and two children.