Navalny funeral: What do Muscovites expect and how does the Kremlin react?

Berlin newspaper Navalny funeral: What do Muscovites expect and how does the Kremlin react? by Nicolas Butylin • 4 hrs. The central question among Navalny supporters: How many dare to come to the funeral on Friday? A rather dreary area surrounds the Borisov Cemetery in the south of Moscow: a gray shopping mall with supermarkets and a fitness studio, a car wash, white and gray 15-story high-rise buildings as far as the eye can see. There is also a busy road in the immediate vicinity, after all the Moskva River is not far away. Actually not a special residential area in the Russian metropolis. Except: Alexei Navalny lived in the area. The opposition politician will also find his final resting place in this district. First, a funeral service will take place early Friday afternoon Moscow time in a church very close to the Marijno metro station. This was announced by Kira Jarmysch, the late opposition politician's press spokeswoman, on X, formerly Twitter. “If Alexei’s political work meant something to you, I ask you to come,” she said in a video message. Later, around 4 p.m. Moscow time, probably the most famous Russian opposition politician of the past decade will be buried in the Borisov Cemetery. There are just over two kilometers between the church and the cemetery - a walk of around 28 minutes, as Navalny's spokeswoman announced in her video. Is there the possibility of a political protest? Currently unclear. One day after Putin's State of the Union speech, the Russian state appears to be preparing to clamp down on any political act. Russian exile media reported the first patrols in front of the cemetery on Thursday evening, police bars were visibly set up, and officials installed makeshift surveillance cameras on street lamps. Police forces are also checking several passers-by near the Borisowo and Marijno subway stations. In addition, police officers at the cemetery entrance should ask visitors to show their passports and explain the purpose of visiting the gravesite. According to a Russian Telegram channel, the search of personal belongings is justified by “preventing terrorist operations.” As expected for many Navalny supporters, it will not be a “normal” memorial service. But how exactly will Navalny's friends, acquaintances and simple fans of the Kremlin critic mark the day? Ultimately, there is a risk of arrest if officials interpret the funeral service as a political rally. There is fear: “I won’t go to the funeral because I’m afraid the police will arrest a lot of people on the way home,” a Navalny supporter living in Moscow told the Berliner Zeitung, who cannot be named for security reasons. “Middle-aged men in particular will be targeted by the state.” Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia, who recently spoke before the EU Parliament and wants to “hold Putin personally accountable,” also fears a large police presence in the south of Moscow. “I cannot guarantee whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who came to say goodbye to my husband.” Shortly after the first reports of his death two weeks ago, when several Moscow residents laid flowers in memory of Navalny , there were numerous arrests. Until now, mourning together has always taken place in secret. The Navalny supporter who spoke to the Berliner Zeitung thinks that the police will not only arrest people on Friday, but especially in the following days. “That’s why the surveillance cameras, that’s why the facial recognition at the entrances and exits of the metro, that’s why the passports are asked at the cemetery entrance,” he says. However, this has nothing to do with addressing a threat like in Germany or something similar. The Kremlin will therefore see “excessive mourning” as a political act – in the worst case scenario, there will be “no longer just a few nights in custody”. Even solidarity postings on VKontakte (editor's note: a Russian Facebook counterpart) or Instagram have to be written carefully, otherwise there is a risk of penalties such as “discrediting state officials, extremism or glorification of violence,” says the Muscovite. He knows friends who were threatened with expulsion from the university if they went to Navalny's funeral. On February 16, the Federal Penitentiary Service in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug reported that Navalny died in the so-called Arctic Wolf colony. Nine days later, the opposition activist's body was handed over to his mother. She said during a video speech that she had been pressured to bury her son secretly and without media exposure. However, she refused to comply with these demands. Navalny's team wants to report live from the memorial service