MOSCOW, Russia: Supporters of deceased opposition politician Alexei Navalny are laying flowers in Russia and at Russian embassies around the world after Russia’s prison service announced the jailed Kremlin critic’s death on Friday.
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, hundreds of people gathered at monuments dedicated to Soviet victims of political repression to pay their respects to the late activist.
“I went to pay my respects,” said Ksenia, 29, a Navalny supporter in Moscow.
Most of the Navalny supporters interviewed on the occasion withheld their names because of the risks associated with supporting the opposition leader after his groups were banned as “extremist”.
People are talking quietly. They are carrying red and white flowers. Many are crying quietly and hugging each other, according to The Moscow Times.
Despite the risks, people from western Russia to Siberia also laid flowers and photos of Navalny in cities such as Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Kaluga and Tula.
Several Russian and foreign political figures expressed their support for Navalny and his family, including EU Ambassador to Russia Roland Galharague, who paid tribute by laying flowers at the Solovetsky Stone in Moscow.
Police in Moscow detained several supporters of Navalny, including a man holding a placard reading “Killers!” and a woman holding a “Alexei Navalny died today” poster.
Rallies in Navalny’s memory have also been announced in at least 30 cities outside Russia — in major centers for Russian anti-war emigrants such as Yerevan, Prague, Riga, Berlin, Paris, Belgrade, Tel Aviv and several other European cities.
“When I read this news, I was speechless. I started crying and my hands were shaking,” said a Navalny supporter who attended a memorial rally in Spain and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, people chanted “Russia will be free”, “The police are a disgrace” and “Love is stronger than fear”.
“This is actually a political murder,” said IT specialist Vitaly, a Navalny supporter who came to lay flowers in Tbilisi.
“He was a leader who could make a difference. It’s a big loss.”
Navalny, 47, has been one of the most vocal domestic opponents of President Vladimir Putin over the past decade, mobilizing massive protests across the country.
He was serving a 19-year prison sentence on a series of “extremism” charges that his allies and supporters believed were politically motivated.
Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 after recovering from near-fatal poisoning in Germany and was arrested upon arrival.
In 2021, he was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, with many foreign leaders calling for his release.
Navalny’s allies repeatedly warned that his health was deteriorating due to harsh prison conditions, including being placed in solitary confinement 27 times.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the president had been informed of Navalny’s reported death, but Putin himself has yet to comment.
Asked about unconfirmed reports that the jailed activist may have died of a blood clot, Peskov said medics should determine the cause of his death.
Peskov also called Western countries pointing the finger at Moscow “completely unacceptable” and called their reactions “hysterical.”
