‘Keep it brief’

Despite a heavy police presence, mourners are still bringing flowers to Navalny’s grave

On March 1, Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny was buried in Moscow. Thousands of people gathered outside the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Soothe My Sorrows, where his funeral was held. Following the service, they accompanied the hearse carrying his coffin to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where he was interred. While the cemetery was officially supposed to close at 5:00 p.m. local time, it continued admitting visitors until around 10:30 p.m. One day later, despite a heavy police presence, people are still coming to pay their respects. Meduza shares photos from the scene.

The day after Alexey Navalny’s funeral in Moscow, people are still coming to lay flowers at his grave, according to eyewitnesses.

Despite fencing and significant security, officers are reportedly allowing people in without issue. “You can go into the cemetery without any trouble,” one person who was there in the morning said, adding that police “aren’t rushing” people but rather are allowing them to stay for “as long as they want.” The source told journalists that “there are many flowers, and people keep coming.”

Later in the day, sources reported that police were asking mourners to leave immediately after placing their flowers. “They’re asking people to keep their farewells brief. They don’t say Navalny’s name, just ‘the deceased,’ ‘his grave,’ and so on,” one person told TV Rain.

Navalny’s mother and mother-in-law also came to the cemetery on Saturday to visit his grave. They were seen paying their respects together.

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