Thousands of mourners gathered in Moscow for the funeral of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny Friday despite warnings from the Kremlin and an ominous police presence.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he has ‘nothing to say to Navalny’s family’ and warned Russians against unauthorized memorials.
“Any unauthorized gathering will be in violation of the law. Accordingly, those who will participate in it will bear responsibility under the laws in place,” Peskov told journalists on Friday.
While Navalny’s parents attended Navalnaya’s funeral his widow, Yulia, who is now safely living abroad thanked the mourners and captioned a photo of her husband in his casket “Thank you for 26 years of absolute 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. I don’t know if I can handle this or not, but I will try,” she added.
After his coffin had been carried out, some people chanted “Russia will be free”, “No to war”, “Russia without Putin”, “We won’t forget” and “Putin is a murderer.”