By Jennifer Odell
5:00pm PDT, Mar 10, 2024
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Under threat of arrest, thousands of people lined the streets of southern Moscow on Friday, March 1, to pay their last respects to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as he was laid to rest after
his death in an Arctic penal colony last month.
The throngs of mourners carried flowers and wept, and many chanted Navalny's name as the vehicle carrying his coffin passed, as seen in footage his Anti-Corruption Foundation team shared on social media. In a defiant show of opposition to Vladimir Putin, others shouted "freedom for Russia" and "love is stronger than fear," according to
The New York Times.
Navalny spent years speaking out against Putin and calling for a free and democratic Russia before prison authorities announced on Feb. 16 that the 47-year-old activist had died after "feeling unwell" on a walk. Leaders from around the world, along with Navalny's supporters, have blamed Putin and his increasingly repressive regime for Navalny's death.
Photos from the open-casket service show Navalny's parents seated by their son's body during the church service. Video from the burial, meanwhile, shows the late opposition leader squeezed in a final statement of defiance in the form of music.
As his coffin was lowered into the ground, Frank Sinatra's "My Way" played, followed by the theme from
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day." The same music plays in the final scene of "Judgement Day" — reportedly Navalny's favorite movie — as Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator character descends into a tub of molten steel and flashes a thumbs-up.Keep reading for more details and images from Alexei Navalny's funeral…MORE:
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Alexei Navalny's parents — Anatoly Navalny (second from left) and Lyudmila Navalnaya (third from left) — sit by the body of the late Russian opposition leader during his funeral service at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Moscow's district of Maryino in Russia on March 1.
MORE:
World leaders react to Alexei Navalny's death
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Neither Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, nor their children, Daria and Zakhar, are believed to have attended his funeral, presumably for safety reasons.
Prior to the service, Yulia expressed concern supporters would be arrested. On March 1, she shared a memorial tribute to her husband, using his nickname.
"Lyosha, thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness," she wrote. "Yes, even over the last three years of happiness. I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me."
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The body of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen during his funeral service at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Moscow, Russia, on March 1.
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The body of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen during the funeral service at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Moscow, Russia, on March 1.
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People with flowers shout during Alexei Navalny's funeral in Moscow on March 1.
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Thousands of mourners crowd outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Moscow ahead of a funeral service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on March 1.
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Law enforcement officers control mourners gathered outside the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's Maryino district after the burial of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on March 1.
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Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny into the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Moscow for his funeral service on March 1.
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A woman holding flowers cries outside an Orthodox temple in Moscow during Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's funeral on March 1, 2024.
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Alexei Navalny's parents — Lyudmila Navalnaya (center) and Anatoly Navalny (second from left) — mourn the late Russian opposition leader while standing alongside his coffin during his funeral ceremony at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's Maryino district on March 1, 2024.
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Alexei Navalny's parents — Lyudmila Navalnaya and Anatoly Navalny — attend his funeral at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a funeral ceremony at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during a funeral ceremony at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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Lyudmila Navalnaya — mother of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny — attends the funeral ceremony for her son at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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Alexei Navalny's parents — Lyudmila Navalnaya and Anatoly Navalny — attend his funeral ceremony at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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The grave of Alexei Navalny — who died in a Russian prison on Feb. 16 — is seen at Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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A Russian Police officer is seen addressing crowds of mourners during the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow on March 1, 2024 .
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U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy attends Alexei Navalny's funeral ceremony in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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French Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy attends Alexei Navalny's funeral ceremony in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy (right) and French Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy (left) attend Alexei Navalny's funeral ceremony in Moscow on March 1, 2024.
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Mourners gather outside the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's Maryino district during the burial of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on March 1, 2024.
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Mourners walk in a procession towards the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow during the funeral of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on March 1, 2024.
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People pay tribute to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a makeshift memorial outside the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's Maryino district following his funeral ceremony on March 1, 2024.
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Supporters around the world honored Alexei Navalny at makeshift memorials on the day of his funeral. Here, people are seen mourning Navalny's death in Yerevan, Armenia, on March 1, 2024.
