Funeral service from 12 noon

Paranoid Kremlin gears up for Navalny’s funeral

Navalny's supporters and many international observers agree that there can be no question of a "natural" cause of death, as is stated on the death certificate.

(Bild: APA/AFP)

The funeral of regime opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in the sinister "Polar Wolf" prison, will take place in Moscow on Friday. As announced by his supporters on social media, the funeral service is planned from 12 noon CET in a church in the prefabricated Marino district, where the opposition figure used to live. He will then be buried at the Borisov cemetery. Meanwhile, the police are getting into position, as riots are feared.

Lots of metal fences dot the site where the opponent of the regime, who died after three years of torture, is to be laid to rest. Patrol police are on standby - so great is the fear of Russia's famously overcautious President Vladimir Putin that the situation could get out of hand. Every lamppost is adorned with surveillance cameras, writes "RusNews".

Posters have already been put up in the church chosen for the funeral service with calls for audio and video recordings to be banned, reports "SOTA". There is even a camera hanging on the holy gate. The lamps around the cemetery have been fitted with special antennas and could be used as communication jammers.

Navalny team now unable to find a hearse
Meanwhile, Navalny's team is complaining that not a single hearse can be found anywhere in Moscow to take the politician's body to the funeral service.

"At first they didn't want to provide us with a place to say goodbye to Alexei. And now, where the funeral service is to take place, the funeral agencies are telling us that not a single hearse can be found to take the body there. Unknown people are calling everyone in turn and threatening that Alexei's body won't be taken anywhere," complains Navalny's team.

"It's just sick," says Navalny's confidant Leonid Volkov, not mincing his words. And adds: "That alone is enough for Putin, (the Moscow mayor, editor's note) Sobyanin and all their henchmen to burn in hell."

Authorities threaten pupils and students
As a prophylactic measure, Russia's pupils are being prepared to stay away from demonstrations. A portal controlled by the Ministry of Education even published its own video. In the video, which lasts around three minutes, students are literally shown that they could face up to ten years in prison if they take part in an unauthorized demonstration. Students are threatened that they will be expelled from university if they are spotted protesting, as a subscriber to "7x7" described:

For example, the Russian authorities also did not want to approve a rally planned for Saturday to commemorate Navalny and opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead in the middle of Moscow's city center in 2015. The particularly absurd reason: this would not be possible due to coronavirus restrictions. It is well known that Moscow was very negligent in its handling of the deadly pathogen during the pandemic.

Ambassador Almhofer to represent Austria at Navalny's funeral
Following yesterday's uproar that the Greens' foreign policy spokesperson Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic had not been granted a visa to attend Navalny's funeral, it has now been announced that at least Ambassador Werner Almhofer will be present. Ernst-Dziedzic wants to commemorate in Vienna.

"In coordination with our EU partners, Austria will be represented at the funeral of Alexei Navalny by Ambassador Werner Almhofer. The participation of Austria's highest representative in Russia in terms of protocol is a clear signal to the Russian regime," explained the spokesperson. She announced that Almhofer would also lay a wreath on behalf of the Republic. Austria had taken an unequivocal stance on the death of Navalny both at the level of the head of state and on the part of the federal government. The Russian side had "reacted with snivelling", she commented.

Commemoration in Vienna
Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh also called on supporters of the slain opponent of the regime worldwide to come to memorial sites at 7 p.m. local time on the X platform (formerly Twitter) to commemorate the deceased opposition figure. For Austria, the address of the Russian embassy in Reisnerstraße in Vienna-Landstraße was given as the place of remembrance. Amnesty Austria is also organizing a vigil in memory of Putin's greatest enemy on Friday at 4 p.m. on the Platz der Menschenrechte near the Museumsquartier in Vienna.

According to official reports, Navalny died on February 16 at the age of just 47 in a prison camp north of the Arctic Circle. The fierce critic of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was physically very weakened by a poison attack in 2020 and constant solitary confinement in the camp. His supporters and many international observers therefore agree that there can be no question of a "natural" cause of death, as the death certificate states.