Funeral homes in Moscow are refusing to organize the ceremony for the final farewell to the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, citing restrictions from the city authorities, as reported by the Russian independent channel Mozhem Objasnit on Telegram.
Navalny’s spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, announced on Monday that the funeral of the politician, who died under unexplained circumstances in a labor camp beyond the Arctic Circle, will take place at the end of the week. She wrote on the X platform that his colleagues are looking for a venue to organize a public ceremony.
“I have called almost all large funeral homes, and everywhere they refuse, citing ‘restrictions from the city authorities,’ or - which was more common - not explaining the refusal at all. I am talking to churches - this doesn’t look good either,” said opposition activist Elvira Vichareva.
Mozhem Objasnit asked opposition figures who remained in Russia if they could provide their party premises for the ceremony, but the responses were also negative. The party of former presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin and former candidate Yekaterina Dunova, for example, stated that they do not have their own premises.
Reportedly, Alexei Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, received an ultimatum from the prison authorities: either she agrees to a quiet funeral in a local cemetery, or the opposition figure will be buried on the grounds of the penal colony. Independent Russian media reported that the woman appealed these actions to the local court. She also received support from her son’s supporters.
Relatives, Orthodox believers, clergy, representatives of the cultural world, and the media have all appealed for the release of Navalny’s body.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos conglomerate and one of the emigrant Russian opposition figures in the West, assessed that the Russian authorities did not want to hand over Navalny’s body to the family because they feared that his funeral could turn into violent protests.
On Monday, a collaborator of the anti-Kremlin opposition leader, Maria Pevchikh, announced that Navalny was to be released soon as part of an exchange for an FSB officer serving a prison sentence in Berlin.
“I have called almost all large funeral homes, and everywhere they refuse, citing ‘restrictions from the city authorities,’ or - which was more common - not explaining the refusal at all. I am talking to churches - this doesn’t look good either,” said opposition activist Elvira Vichareva.
Mozhem Objasnit asked opposition figures who remained in Russia if they could provide their party premises for the ceremony, but the responses were also negative. The party of former presidential candidate Boris Nadezhdin and former candidate Yekaterina Dunova, for example, stated that they do not have their own premises.
Reportedly, Alexei Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila, received an ultimatum from the prison authorities: either she agrees to a quiet funeral in a local cemetery, or the opposition figure will be buried on the grounds of the penal colony. Independent Russian media reported that the woman appealed these actions to the local court. She also received support from her son’s supporters.
Relatives, Orthodox believers, clergy, representatives of the cultural world, and the media have all appealed for the release of Navalny’s body.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos conglomerate and one of the emigrant Russian opposition figures in the West, assessed that the Russian authorities did not want to hand over Navalny’s body to the family because they feared that his funeral could turn into violent protests.
On Monday, a collaborator of the anti-Kremlin opposition leader, Maria Pevchikh, announced that Navalny was to be released soon as part of an exchange for an FSB officer serving a prison sentence in Berlin.
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