Putin has yet to comment publicly on the death of his most vocal critic
Moscow, Russia:
Hundreds of Alexei Navalny’s supporters lined up to lay flowers and pay tribute to the dead opposition leader on Sunday to show support for the anti-corruption activist who died in an Arctic prison colony last month.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s staunchest rival, who is set to win another in an election, expressed his affection for the president two weeks ago A six-year term for which he will face no real competition.
Long queues formed on Sunday outside the Borisovo cemetery in southern Moscow, where Navalny was buried on Friday, the third day in a row since his shocking death last month. Team.
“It shows that people are feeling the extent of the loss, the scale of this man, they feel exactly what this man did for the country,” Alexander, a 29-year-old engineer, told AFP at the cemetery on Sunday.
“I came here for the second time just to be with my friends. You can say these people here are my relatives,” said Irina, who is in her 70s.
Thousands of people attended Navalny’s funeral and burial on Friday, although the Kremlin warned mourners they may be punished if they are found to have violated Moscow’s strict anti-protest laws, which ban unsanctioned public demonstrations and gatherings. Arrested.
“It’s nice to know there are many of us,” said Svetlana, a 65-year-old pensioner.
“People loved him. They wanted to show their love,” she added.
The person who spoke to AFP on Sunday declined to give his last name.
Since launching a full-scale military offensive into Ukraine, Russian authorities have cracked down heavily on public expressions of dissent or opposition to the Kremlin.
Police maintained a presence at the cemetery on Sunday, although the numbers were smaller than in previous days and there were no signs of mass arrests.
The procession to enter the cemetery wound along a main road for about half a kilometer on Sunday afternoon.
Mourners placed piles of red, white and yellow roses and carnations on his grave. By Sunday afternoon, the pile of headstones was nearly two meters high, and the Orthodox cross on top of the grave was barely visible above the flowers.
‘disaster’
The crowd on Sunday was a mixture of anger, sadness, hope and despair.
“I don’t even know what to say. I’m so sorry for what’s happening to our country right now and we’re all mourning him as a man. I hope one day everything will stop. Maybe the devastation will stop and then we can finally live. Let’s live a peaceful and happy life,” said 28-year-old designer Anastasia.
During Putin’s 24 years in power, nearly all Russian opposition figures were imprisoned, died or fled abroad.
Navalny’s allies accuse the Kremlin of ordering his killing, and Western leaders say Putin is “responsible” for his death.
Putin has yet to comment on the death of his most vocal critic.
Alexander, a 45-year-old audio engineer, said the large crowds supporting Navalny ahead of the March 15-17 presidential election were a unique form of voting that human rights groups and independent vote watchdogs said was neither free nor free. unfair.
“Everyone is expressing their opinion,” he told AFP.
The authorities have removed all genuine opposition candidates from the ballot, while the country’s most prominent Putin critics still alive are in prison or abroad.
Graphic designer Olga, 25, who was also at the cemetery on Friday, said she was encouraged by the large turnout.
“It was difficult. But when I came here on the first day… and saw the people here, somehow something happened,” she told AFP.
“I don’t want to give up at all. So it’s hard, but it feels like something is coming to life inside. I don’t want to give up, and I won’t give up. Like Alexey asked,” she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
