Alexei Navalny’s funeral held as protesters gathered

According to Russian newspaper Pravda.ru, Opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s funeral was held in Moscow in the Church of the Icon of Mother of God, and he was later buried in the Besov cemetery. The Kremlin spokesman did not have anything to say about the protesters who had gathered at Navalany’s funeral, first at the church and later at the cemetery. ‘pravda.ru’ noted: “Those gathered reported that the coffin with the body was lowered into the grave to the song ‘My Way” by Frank Sinatra and the title song of “Terminator” movie.

Navalny’s parents, Anatoly and Lydumila Navalny, as well as the mother of the widow were present at the funeral. Yulia Navalnaya [Alexei’s wife] and the children did not attend the ceremony.”

Pravda.ru also said listed the ambassadors from other countries who were present at the funeral ceremony in the church and at the cemetery. According to the paper they included the US ambassador Lynn Tracy, deputy ambassador of Great Britain Tom Dodd, French ambassador Pierre Levy, Germany’s Alexander Lambsdorff, Canada’s Sarah Taylor. Cars of ambassadors of Ireland, Greece, Poland, Belgium and Austria.

Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to give a comment on the funeral, where hundreds of people of Navalny’s supporters had gathered in a defiance of the Putin government. He said the Kremlin cannot give assessments. Asked about the rallies that Navalny’s supporters were planning to hold across the country, he said, “There is a law, and it must be followed. Any unauthorised gatherings will violate the law; accordingly, those who participate in them will be held accountable, again, in accordance with the current law.” According to Russian authorities Navalny has died of a clot in the heart.

What is of interest is the fact that the Putin government, despite bureaucratic delays, had handed over Navalny’s body to his mother, and they have allowed a funeral to be held independently by the family and his supporters. Also, representatives of many countries managed to attend the funeral and burial.

The government could have intervened at any point. It could have decided to bury him at the Arctic prison camp. It could have prevented people from gathering at the funeral. It would appear that the government was not worried about people gathering at the funeral. At the same time, the Putin government wanted to send out a clear message that there is room for limited dissidence in the country. People can protest but they cannot go beyond a point.

It also seemed that President Vladimir Putin wanted to make it appear that he would not deny a man, who was his bitter rival, a Christian burial. That will be seen as a big positive among his critics in Europe, east and west. Putin must have felt that was the best way of softening the blow of Navalny’s death.

The government wanted to drive home the point that Navalny’s death had happened due to medical reasons, and there is no conspiracy behind it. And to prove that the death was natural, the funeral had to be public and independent. It is unlikely that Putin’s critics in western Europe are going to accept that it was a natural occurrence. They would argue that the fact that he pushed Navalny into an extreme penal colony in the Arctic is in itself a factor in Navalny’s death.

Not many people even in Russia with its extreme cold conditions can withstand the extreme Arctic conditions. For some time to come, the death of Navalny in Putin’s Russia will remain controversial. Can the opposition gather strength using Navalny’s death? It looks a difficult proposition as of now.