Our live coverage of Navalny's funeral has ended. Read more about the Russian opposition figure's memorial here or read through the posts below.
The funeral for Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny
By Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt and Leinz Vales, CNN
Updated 3:35 p.m. ET, March 1, 2024
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Navalny in CNN documentary: "My message for the situation when I am killed is very simple: not give up"
From CNN's David Rind
In 2022, the CNN Films documentary “Navalny” chronicled the aftermath of Alexey Navalny’s poisoning.
In the film, director Daniel Roher asked Navalny what message he would want to leave for the Russian people if he were to be killed.
“My message for the situation when I am killed is very simple: not give up,” Navalny said in English.
Then, Roher asked him to answer it in Russian.
“I’ve got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up,” Navalny said. “If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong. We need to utilize this power, to not give up, to remember we are a huge power that is being oppressed by these bad dudes.
We don’t realize how strong we actually are. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. So don’t be inactive.”
Roher later told CNN’s David Rind on the "Tug of War" podcast why he asked Navalny to switch languages.
“I thought that the power of that was quite significant and symbolic because he is now in prison in a gulag outside of Moscow,” Roher said. “Let the last word of this would-be president be to his people.”
Watch it here:
Navalny had long been a thorn in Putin’s side
From CNN's Laura Smith-Spark and Zamira Rahim
Alexey Navalny, who died aged 47, had long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.
His imprisonment in 2021 sparked scores of demonstrations across Russia, leading to thousands of detentions. From prison, Navalny denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine via social media and encouraged anti-war protests across the country.
The Kremlin critic was quietly relocated to a penal colony in Siberia in December, a move that sparked a two-week search by his team who lost contact with him during the unannounced transfer.
The death of Putin’s most high-profile critic punctuates a merciless crackdown on dissidence in Russia that has accelerated during its war with Ukraine.
Putin has long refused to utter Navalny’s name. He described the extensive media investigations into the 2020 Novichok poisoning as fabrications by Western intelligence and said in December 2020 that if Russian security services had wanted to kill the activist, they “would have finished” the job.
More than 100 people detained across Russia for paying respects to Navalny, monitoring group says
From CNN's Mariya Knight
At least 115 people have been detained across Russia for paying tribute to late opposition leader Alexey Navalny on Friday, according to monitoring group OVD-Info.
The largest number of people, 16, were detained in the city of Novosibirsk.
At least 10 people have been detained in the capital Moscow, where Navalny was buried, according to OVD-Info. Another 10 were detained in Yekaterinburg, the group said, with 14 held in the Voronezh region.
People were also detained in Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Vladikavkaz, Sochi, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Ulan-Ude, among other cities, according to OVD-Info.
This post has been updated with the latest figures from OVD-Info.
Navalny's daughter vows to make her father proud
From CNN’s Mariya Knight in Atlanta
Alexey Navalny's daughter Dasha Navalnaya vowed to make her father proud in an Instagram post on Friday, the day of his funeral.
“You taught me to live by my principles from childhood. To live a worthy life. You gave your life for me, for my mother, for Zakhar (Navalny's son), for Russia, and I promise you that I will live my life the way you taught me, to make you proud, and most importantly, with the same bright smile on my face,” she said in a farewell note to her father.
Navalnaya also said that her father will forever remain “an example” to live by, calling him her “role model” and her “hero.”
Navalny was laid to rest at a Moscow cemetery Friday, exactly two weeks after his death was announced by Russia’s prison service. While his parents were present at the funeral, his widow and children were not.
Many hundreds of mourners have been allowed into the cemetery to pay their respects to the opposition leader.
Alexey Navalny's funeral and burial has drawn thousands of mourners in Moscow. Catch up here
From CNN staff
Thousands of mourners gathered in Moscow for the funeral of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny Friday despite a heavy police presence and the threat of detention.
The first image released from the funeral service displayed an open casket — showing just his face with his body covered in flowers. His coffin was lowered into a grave to the sound of Frank Sinatra’s "My Way."
If you're just joining us, here's what else you need to know:
Where it happened: The funeral service was held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "Quench My Sorrows" in Moscow. His burial site is the Borisovsky cemetery in Moscow’s Maryino district, where Navalny lived.
Who was in attendance: Navalny's parents attended the funeral ceremony and the burial. Video from the cemetery showed his father Anatoly leaning forward to kiss the forehead of his son as Navalny’s body lay in an open casket. Also present were foreign diplomats, including the US Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy. Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has been living abroad and was not present. She said ahead of the funeral that she was concerned police would crack down on mourners. In a message released on Friday, she posted a video with the caption: "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.
What the Kremlin said: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN on Friday he has “nothing” to say to Navalny's family; however, he did warn 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 a regularly scheduled call on Friday.
Defiant mourners showed up in large numbers: As Navalny's body arrived at the church, video shared by Navalny’s team showed mourners clapping. Other videos have shown people chanting “Navalny,” "no to war" and "Russia without Putin." After the funeral ceremony was over, a number of mourners pushed over crowd control barriers in an apparent effort to follow his funeral procession, a video from the church site showed. Finally, as Navalny was laid to rest, several videos showed a large number of people streaming toward the burial site, and a line several hundred meters long formed at the Brateyevsky Bridge. Multiple mourners told CNN they were not afraid of any possible repercussions from the government for their attendance.
Russians pay respects: CNN saw at least some of the many hundreds of mourners who converged at the Borisovsky cemetery allowed into the burial site to pay their respects to Navalny. It was a large but organized affair: A small orchestra near his grave played music as people passed by one by one.
Dozens detained across Russia: At least 45 people have been detained for paying tribute to Navalny on Friday, according to monitoring group OVD-Info.
Broadcast of ceremony likely jammed: The live signal of the CNN team covering the funeral of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny in Moscow appeared to be blocked. Approximately 20 minutes before the funeral is scheduled to begin, no live pictures from the church were available. The feed organized by Navalny’s team was also not showing live coverage of the scene. Then just around the time that the service was over, CNN's signal was back up. Russian state news agencies and broadcasters gave very limited space to the funeral and burial.
European leaders honor Navalny as the Russian dissident is laid to rest
From CNN’s Catherine Nicholls in London
A number of European leaders commemorated Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny with social media tributes on Friday.
- European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed condolences to Navalny's family and friends in a post on X, formerly Twitter. He said the EU ambassador to Russia is among several European diplomats attending the funeral. "Navalny’s beliefs will not disappear - ideas cannot be tortured, poisoned or killed. He remains an inspiration for many in Russia and beyond," he wrote.
- The United Kingdom’s Foreign Minister David Cameron wrote on X: “Putin tried to silence Alexey Navalny. But the world was watching. On the day of his funeral, we remember his spirit of defiance in the face of brutality from the Russian regime, and his courage in standing up to corruption. We must continue to hold Russia to account.”
- Poland’s embassy in Russia posted that its ambassador to Russia was one of several to attend the service and also said Russian police were blocking mourners from entering the church. “The police block the entrance to the Orthodox church. Ambassador Krajewski among colleagues from New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Australia. Crowds of people are trying to bid farewell to the opposition leader. R.I.P,” it said. The post was reposted by the Polish foreign ministry.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lauded the thousands of Russian civilians who are honoring Navalny. “Alexey Navalny paid for his fight for democracy and freedom with his life. After his death, courageous Russians are carrying on his legacy: many of them were at the funeral today and took a big risk - for freedom,” Scholz wrote.
- The Czech Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that its ambassador attended Navalny’s funeral, writing that the Czech Republic "stands with all Russians who were not afraid to honour the memory of Alexey Navalny. They made it clear that they are not indifferent to the situation in Russia."
- Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib posted a video of a large crowd chanting Navalny’s name, alongside the caption “You can’t tame freedom.”
Navalny spent his life fighting the Kremlin and exposing corruption
From CNN's Laura Smith-Spark and Zamira Rahim
Alexey Navalny had long been a thorn in the side of Russian President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places, campaigning against the ruling United Russia party and orchestrating some of the biggest anti-government protests seen in recent years.
His imprisonment in 2021 sparked scores of demonstrations across Russia, leading to thousands of detentions. From prison, Navalny denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine via social media and encouraged anti-war protests across the country.
The Kremlin critic was quietly relocated to a penal colony in Siberia in December 2023 — a move that sparked a two-week search by his team who lost contact with him during the unannounced transfer.
Navalny was detained and sent to a Russian prison in 2021 after he had returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. The Kremlin repeatedly denied any involvement.
Putin has long refused to utter Navalny’s name. He described the extensive media investigations into the 2020 Novichok poisoning as fabrications by Western intelligence and said in December 2020 that if Russian security services had wanted to kill the activist, they “would have finished” the job.
Keep reading about Navalny's life and work.
Small orchestra played as people passed by Navalny's grave to pay their respects
From CNN's Katharina Krebs and Radina Gigova
A small orchestra near Alexey Navalny's grave played music as people passed by, one by one, to pay their respects to the late opposition leader.
CNN's team had to walk through metal detectors placed at the immediate entrance to the cemetery. Authorities were letting people inside the cemetery in small groups. Everyone was asked to keep moving to avoid blocking the route.
As CNN's team was leaving the site, the line of people who were waiting to enter the cemetery was still massive.