The coffin with Navalny's body is lowered into the grave. A touching message from his wife

The coffin with the body of Alexei Navalny was lowered into the grave at the Borysovsky cemetery in Moscow. "The funeral mass went by very quickly", said Ivan Zhdanov, an associate of the Russian oppositionist who died on February 16. Thousands of people attended the ceremony. The crowd chanted Navalny's name. Large police forces were visible around the cemetery and church.

The funeral of the well-known Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, who died in unclear circumstances in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, took place at 4:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. in Poland) at the Borysovsky Cemetery in Moscow.

The cemetery was guarded by police. The necropolis could only be entered after showing documents to the officers. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Russia. Among them was the Polish Ambassador to Russia Krzysztof Krajewski. "The police are preventing entry to the church", wrote the Polish Embassy in Moscow.

"You were not afraid, we are not afraid either", "Navalny!"
the crowd chanted.

It is not known how many people came to the politician's funeral. Independent media write about thousands.

Russia. The coffin with Navalny's body is lowered into the grave. A touching message from his wife

After 1:00 p.m., mourners began to head to the Boryslavsky cemetery near the church. Earlier, Orthodox farewell ceremonies for the deceased were held in the temple. His parents were by the coffin - Anatoly Navalny and Lyudmila. In the church, the lid of the coffin was removed. The body of Alexei Navalny was visible.

After 2:00 p.m. Polish time, the coffin with Navalny's body was lowered into the grave. People standing nearby throw handfuls of earth into it. The orchestra played music from the movie "Terminator 2".

"Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the last three years of happiness. For the love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for always thinking about me. I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to make you happy and proud of me up there. I don't know if I can handle it or not, but I'll try," wrote Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the deceased oppositionist, on social media.

Russia. Funeral of Alexei Navalny in Moscow

Before the funeral of Alexei Navalny at 2:00 p.m. (12:00 p.m. in Poland), a service began in the church in the Marjino district. The area around the church is guarded by police, and more police vehicles are arriving - Mediazona reports.

Dozhd TV reported a large number of OMON (special police forces) officers. According to her, the police are on duty at the metro station and are checking the IDs of people carrying flowers. There are problems with mobile internet near the church - the Mediazona correspondent reported.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that "the Kremlin has nothing to say to Navalny's loved ones on the day of his funeral".

"But we have something to say to the Kremlin - the murderers of Alexei"
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh responded on social media.

Reinforced police units are on duty at the nearby metro station. There are two policemen in front of the entrance to the cemetery, and a police car for transporting detainees is parked nearby. To enter the cemetery, you must show your ID and state the purpose of your visit.

The police are checking personal belongings, arguing that this is a security measure to prevent "terrorist operations". Journalists noticed that these are employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs department, which is officially supposed to combat extremism.

Kira Yarmysh: Relatives arrived at the morgue

Kira Yarmysh informed that two hours before the ceremony, the family was not given Navalny's body. It was not until a quarter to 11:00 a.m. that Navalny's body was handed over to his closest relatives and transported in a hearse to the church.

Videos posted on social media show a large crowd of people gathered under the church. Reuters reports that there may be about 1,000 people there.

The broadcast of the funeral is available, among others, on the YouTube service on the Alexei Navalny channel, which has 6.36 million subscribers. After 1:00 p.m., the broadcast was watched by over 250,000 people.