In the realm of Moscow, denizens have beheld myriad portrayals of Alexei Navalny — an impassioned agitator with a vociferous call. A governmental dissenter whose countenance was besmeared with verdant pigment by an assailant, jestingly transforming him into the Hulk. A grinning political detainee crafting a heart with his hands, gesturing to his spouse within the confines of a defendant’s dock in court.
Come Friday, a concluding tableau of the opposition luminary unfolded: Navalny in an exposed coffin, enveloped by red and white blooms, with a “venchik” gracing his forehead, an emblem of virtuous living.
His physique, visibly emaciated from the months spent behind bars preceding his abrupt and yet unexplained demise, served as an ultimate confirmation: this marked the ultimate valediction.
For adherents of Navalny’s dream for a liberated and tranquil Russia, this moment bore an undertone of profound despondency.
“The enormity of what was perpetrated upon him is exceedingly arduous to assimilate and overcome,” remarked Nadezhda Ivanova, a mourner standing outside the church hosting Navalny’s funereal ceremony. “Today, we bid farewell to an indubitably remarkable man and accompany him on his ultimate journey.”
Only a chosen few gained entry to offer their condolences within the precincts of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, where Navalny’s casket lay amid an ambience of flickering candles.
Thousands more thronged the thoroughfares bordering the church, extending toward the necropolis where Navalny’s remains found their repose. Amidst a dense police presence and encased by metal barricades, some in the assembly cast flowers toward the hearse.
Upon the announcement of Navalny’s demise on February 16, law enforcement detained multitudes attempting to lay floral tributes. Apprehensions lingered that the funeral would witness a recurrence of extensive arrests. The conspicuous public mourning for Navalny despite such concerns attested to the statesman’s prominence, as posited by Mark Galotti, the head of Mayak Intelligence consultancy.
“Despite the coercive law enforcement presence, the escalating authoritarianism of the state, and the proliferation of new CCTV cameras recording their countenances, thousands of Muscovites convened to bid adieu to Navalny in the most substantial grassroots manifestation in years,” he conveyed on X, previously known as Twitter.
Congregations persisted at the gates of the burial grounds, clamoring, “Grant us entry to bid adieu!” Navalny’s progenitors caressed and kissed his brow before the casket was ultimately sealed and lowered into the soil.
Upon the gates’ unfastening, the mourners streamed forth — a ceaseless procession of individuals presenting flowers and casting small handfuls of soil onto the sepulcher. Police officers lingered nearby, expeditiously guiding individuals along.
Yet, amid the despondency, an undercurrent of defiance prevailed. As twilight descended, the expectant throngs sustained their chants: “Love transcends fear” and “Putin is a perpetrator.”
Navalny had perennially implored Russians never to relinquish hope. Now, many aspire that his demise will be the ultimate catalyst for Russia’s pro-democracy movement, a fount of renewed fortitude.
In a social media missive, acclaimed Russian-Georgian author Boris Akunin implored Russians not to permit Navalny’s passing to be in vain.
“Today, we lay to rest an individual who harbored a sublime vision: to forge the Beautiful Russia of Tomorrow. A human can be extinguished. Anything imbued with vitality can be extinguished. Even a dream,” he proclaimed.
“Every endeavor that Alexei undertook for the Beautiful Russia of Tomorrow, he fulfilled. Whether it all amounted to naught now hinges upon you and me. May Alexei rest eternally in memory, and may perpetual ignominy befall us if it was all for naught.”
