February 22, 2024

Flowers and Handcuffs for Navalny


Flowers and Handcuffs for Navalny
Flowers left for Navalny in Moscow. SotaVision, Telegram.

On February 16 and 17, makeshift memorials and protests for Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny sprung up across Russia and the world.

In Moscow, police pushed protestors away from the "Wall of Grief" and detained anyone carrying banners. Mourners also gathered at the Muzeon Park's monument of the repressed, but police threw all flowers into the snow.

In St. Petersburg, Archbishop Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko was set to celebrate a civil funeral for Navalny at the Solovetsky Stone. As the cleric was leaving his house, he was arrested. The ceremony carried on without him, but attendees were arrested.

Yekaterinburg woke up to graffiti commemorating the late Navalny. Arrests in connection with Navalny memorials have also been documented in Arkhangelsk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk, and Skytyvkar, among other cities. Flowers for the Russian opposition leader have even been laid in annexed Luhansk.

In London, residents left bouquets and signs that read, "You can kill Navalny but not the opposition, we are here" and "Not all heroes wear capes." In Helsinki, Paris, and Lisbon, candles were accompanied by signs with the words "Don't give up," a signature phrase of the Russian opposition leader. Portraits of Navalny stood firmly in Almaty, Amsterdam, Bishkek, Riga, Tokyo, Vilnius, and Yerevan. In Turin, mourners waved blue and white flags and carried a sign in Italian that read, "Putin is a War Criminal." Rallies for Navalny were organized in cities in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Germany, Poland, Serbia, and the United States, among others. 

In Tashkent, Uzbekistan, mourners were allowed to leave flowers but were quickly dispersed by security forces. Despite Turkey's NATO membership, Istanbul police did not allow protests for Navalny; four people protesting in front of the Russian consulate were detained, but mourners left floral arrangements and commemorative cards at a memorial for Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, a twenty-year-old killed by a taxi during anti-government protests in 2013. Police quickly removed all objects from the scene.

Navalny, who appeared in good health in a Russian court hearing on February 15, died after falling ill during a walk in the Kharp Prison complex the next day. Nearly 400 mourners have so far been arrested in Russia at the time of this writing.

Navalny's body has not yet been returned to his family. The Russian president has not commented on Navalny's death.

You Might Also Like

Repression Impacts Lawyers
  • October 17, 2023

Repression Impacts Lawyers

A court in Moscow has ordered the arrest of lawyers representing Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, charging them with participation in an "extremist community."
Navalny, Lexiconvict
  • September 06, 2023

Navalny, Lexiconvict

The Russian Supreme Court upholds a Kafkaesque ban on Navalny using prison slang.
Navalny Launches Antiwar Campaign
  • June 21, 2023

Navalny Launches Antiwar Campaign

Politician and political prisoner Alexei Navaly is launching a "big propaganda machine" to counter Putin and pro-war propaganda.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955