Women holding red carnations lay flowers in front of the “Wall of Sorrow” monument in honor of Alexei Navalny.
Moscow:
Dozens of Russians laid flowers at a monument in Moscow to commemorate Alexei Navalny on Monday under tight police surveillance, even though the death of opposition icon Alexei Navalny has Hundreds of people have been arrested.
Some shed tears as they laid wreaths at the “Wall of Sorrow” memorial, commemorating those who died in Soviet-era repression.
Since Navalny’s death was announced on Friday at an Arctic prison camp, police have not intervened as they had in previous days.
Mourners paid tribute to Navalny by laying flowers at memorials to victims of the Soviet-era crackdown across Russia, many of whom were arrested.
Human rights groups said that within three days of the deaths being announced, nearly 400 people had been detained and at least 150 had been sentenced to short prison terms.
People went to two shrines in Moscow. Many people lined up in front of the “Wall of Grief” to pay their respects.
-“One for all”-
Women carried red carnations through snowdrifts to the monument. One note read: “One for all.”
Several ambassadors, including French envoy Pierre Levy, also traveled to the “Wall of Sorrow” opposite the Lubyanka Building, the headquarters of the Soviet-era KGB intelligence police and now the home of the modern Federal Security Service.
Paramedic Larissa, 54, said: “Alexei Navalny will always live in our memory, he was a bright light in our lives.”
“We honor his memory and we will continue his work,” she added.
Alexandra, 21, said she was nervous about going to the shrine after seeing videos of the arrest on social media.
“The first two days, I was crying. I was angry,” she said.
“Even if he is in prison, if he is taken into the Arctic Circle, he is still alive. There seems to be still hope,” added the young woman, who said she attended the rally where Navalny spoke.
“This is the kind of guy you want to follow, and people follow him.”
Sixteen-year-old Constantine said he became interested in politics after hearing about Navalny five years ago.
“I have followed his activities over the years. The news of his death on February 16, or rather of his assassination, was of course shocking to me.”
“He showed me that politics is not the boring stuff we see in newspapers,” the teenager added.
“He is a rock star in Russian politics.”
Navalny rose to prominence as an anti-corruption activist and became President Vladimir Putin’s most virulent critic.
After recovering from a poisoning attempt that left him in a deep coma, he returned to Russia, where he was jailed for 19 years on charges of extremism, corruption and other charges that he believed were politically trumped-up.
The murky circumstances of the charismatic Kremlin opponent’s detention and death have struck a nerve among supporters who say they face a growing crackdown.
“He is a hope for millions of Russians, but we don’t know who will be the new hope,” said Elisabeth, 47, nervously, wearing sunglasses as she arrived at the Wall of Sorrow. smokes.
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