Alexei Navalny's funeral set for March 1 in Moscow
6:56 AM EST, February 28, 2024
"The ceremony will take place at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God 'Soothe My Sorrows' in Marjino, on March 1st at 6 AM Eastern Time (12 noon in Poland). It is advised to arrive earlier. Following the service, the burial will be at the Borisov Cemetery," disclosed Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokesperson, on Wednesday through the X service (formerly known as Twitter).
Both mentioned venues are located in the southeastern part of Moscow.
Previously, it was reported by Navalny’s team that they faced difficulties in finding a funeral home ready to arrange a public memorial service. All approached institutions, both state-owned and private, refused their request, with some explicitly stating they were directed not to undertake such tasks.
The Death of Navalny
On February 16th, the Russian prison service reported the sudden demise of the 47-year-old opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, in a penal colony within the Arctic Circle in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Navalny purportedly became ill, losing consciousness shortly after. Despite immediate medical intervention and resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead, according to prison authorities.
January marked three years since Navalny’s arrest upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he was recuperating from an alleged poisoning by Russian special services. Subsequently, he faced multiple legal challenges, resulting in cumulative sentences amounting to over 30 years of imprisonment.
General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian Military Intelligence (HUR), also made a statement regarding Navalny’s death.
"Unfortunately, it seems we have to accept that Navalny did indeed die from a blood clot. This information is more or less verified; it's not a baseless online claim but points to a natural cause," Budanov explained when responding to a query at the "Ukraine. 2024" conference in Kyiv.
