Navalny's funeral ceremony. Barriers along the procession route, the Internet works sporadically
A crowd of mourners gathered in front of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, where the funeral of Alexei Navalny will take place.
The funeral of Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny will be held on March 1 in Moscow (at 2 p.m. local time). The service will be organized in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, and the politician will be buried at the Borisov Cemetery. Barriers were placed along the entire route of the funeral procession.
Navalny's funeral. Cemetery under special supervision
“Relatives arrived at the morgue at 10 a.m., when Alexei's body was to be handed over to them. The body has not been released yet. The schedule has not changed yet, but delays may occur,” said Kira Jarmysz, the opposition's spokeswoman. At 12:45 local time, the director of the Foundation Against Corruption founded by Navalny, Ivan Zhdanov, said that the hearse with the body had set off towards the temple.
According to journalists from the independent Meduza, about a thousand people lined up to enter the temple. For now, the police are not allowing anyone, including journalists, into the fenced area. The Internet near the church “works sporadically.”
The Russian channel Mozem Objasnit reported a day before the ceremony that two policemen were standing in front of the entrance to the cemetery, and a small police car used to transport detainees was parked nearby.
– The Russian authorities will do everything, using the security services, to ensure that Alexei Navalny's funeral does not take place on a mass scale – said prof. Agnieszka Legucka, PISM expert.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that “any unauthorized assembly will be a violation of the law. Therefore, those who participate in it will be held responsible in accordance with applicable regulations.”
