March 05, 2024

Thousands Turn Out for Navalny's Funeral


Thousands Turn Out for Navalny's Funeral
A crowd of mourners bearing flowers at Alexei Navalny's funeral.  Прикли, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Funeral services were held for Alexei Navalny on March 1 in Moscow and drew thousands of Russians and international guests.

The funeral was held in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, in the Maryino district, Navalny's former neighborhood. After the services, Navalny was buried in the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery. The church service was attended only by relatives and friends, but thousands made the journey to the cemetery to pay tribute to the fallen opposition leader

People holding bouquets and signs depicting Navalny lined the streets on the way to Borisovskoye Cemetery. Even an hour before the funeral, the line of mourners stretched over a kilometer from the church. The service itself was brief, only twenty minutes, before the coffin was closed and loaded into a hearse. Mourners threw flowers at the hearse as it drove, with shouts of "Thank you!" and "Heroes never die!" 

At the cemetery, Navalny was lowered into his grave while Frank Sinatra's "My Way" was played. The cemetery service also featured the soundtrack from Terminator 2, one of Navalny's favorite films. 

Many mourners wore face masks or otherwise obscured their identities. At least 45 people were arrested in various Russian cities in connection with memorials for Navalny. 

You Might Also Like

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

The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Murder at the Dacha

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.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

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