Hundreds of mourners gathered at monuments in cities across Russia on Friday to pay their respects to Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader imprisoned by strongman Vladimir Putin after Russian agents failed to kill him with chemical weapons in August 2020.
Navalny reportedly died under mysterious circumstances while being held at an Arctic prison.
The Moscow Times spoke to mourners in Moscow and St. Petersburg who were nervous about reprisals from the Putin regime, since he and his watchdog groups were long ago branded “extremists,” and extremism is usually punished in Russia.
“People are talking quietly. They bear red-and-white flowers. Many are crying quietly, hugging. I expected police, but here there are only people who have lost a lot today,” said one of the mourners, a woman named Ksenia who was nervous about giving her surname.
The police eventually did get involved, as the Moscow Times reported at least 100 arrests at Navalny memorials in seven cities. An entire group of mourners was arrested in St. Petersburg:
Sky News reported mass arrests across the country, including journalists who were attempting to cover the memorials and demonstrations. The police were not gentle with many of the detainees.
The state prosecutor’s office in Moscow warned on Friday that participating in any event related to Navalny’s death could lead to incarceration, especially a mass rally planned for the center of Moscow.
Demonstrators were louder and bolder outside of Putin’s domain. In the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, mourners openly accused Putin of assassinating Navalny and called the police a “disgrace” for cracking down on peaceful demonstrators.
“Putin murderer! Putin to the Hague!” shouted Navalny supporters gathered outside the Russian embassy in Berlin, calling for Putin to be tried at the International Criminal Court.
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