Russians risk reprisals to visit Navalny grave on death anniversary

At least 1,500 Russians came to the grave of Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Sunday, risking reprisals and braving freezing temperatures to pay their respects to the opposition leader on the first anniversary of his death in prison.

Navalny — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main opponent declared “extremist” by Moscow — died on February 16, 2024 in Penal Colony Number Three in Kharp, above the Arctic Circle.

AFP saw hundreds come to Navalny’s grave at Borisovsky Cemetery, leaving flowers and forming a large queue by mid-afternoon.

Russia has still not fully explained the circumstances of his death — saying he died during a walk in the prison yard.

His mother Lyudmila Navalnaya told AFP that she was “doing everything” to push for an investigation and hoped those responsible would be punished.

“The whole world knows who ordered it,” she said, wearing dark sunglasses and holding back tears. “But we want them to know the perpetrators and the enablers.”

Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya — living in exile and also declared an “extremist” — said her husband “continues to unite people” after his death.

Having taken up her dead husband’s mantle from abroad, Navalnaya called on exiled Russians to take to the streets in place of those unable to back home.

The EU said Putin bore “ultimate responsibility” for Navalny’s death and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “His courage made a difference and reaches far beyond his death.”

Remembrance events were taking place with Russia’s exiled opposition movement still plagued by infighting and badly weakened since the loss of its figurehead.

Anybody in Russia who mentions him or his Anti-Corruption Foundation without stating that they have been declared “extremist” is subject to fines, or up to four years in prison for repeated offenses.

Moscow has led a huge crackdown on dissent during its Ukraine offensive, launched nearly three years ago, which Navalny had denounced from prison.