He is buried today in Moscow Alexei Navalny, amid tight security two weeks after his sudden death in an Arctic prison.

As the Associated Press writes, the Russian police will record the passports of those who come to the church of the icon of the Mother of God, which is located in a quiet area of ​​Moscow.

Meanwhile, associates of the Russian opposition politician claimed the funeral would be broadcast live on Navalny’s YouTube channel.

They had previously reported that the organization of the ceremony was hampered as they struggled to hire hearses to transport the body of the late Russian opposition politician.

His supporters say many churches in Moscow have refused to hold the service.

The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which agreed to hold the funeral, did not even mention it on its social media page. Police on Thursday, however, were seen setting up crowd control barriers at the church.

The burial is to take place at the nearby Borisovskoye cemetery, where the police have been since yesterday Thursday.

Navalny’s associates say Russian opposition leader was close to release before his death
It is recalled that his mother, Lyudmila Navalnayaspent eight days trying to convince the authorities to release the body after his death.

Initially the authorities said they could not hand over the body because they had to carry out tests. Navalnaya, 69, appealed via video to President Vladimir Putin to allow his body to be buried with dignity.

It is still not clear which of Navalny’s family or allies will attend the funeral; as many of his associates are in exile abroad due to fear of persecution in Russia.

After all, Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and its regional offices have been designated as “extremist organizations” by the Russian government in 2021.

The politician’s team said the funeral would be broadcast live on Navalny’s YouTube channel.

His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral.

“We don’t want any special treatment — just to give people a chance to say goodbye to Alexei in a normal way,” Yulia Navalnaya wrote in X. In a speech on Wednesday in Strasbourg, she also expressed fears that the police might interfere with the rally or “arrest those who came to say goodbye to my husband”.

Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate commemoration event for Navalny and slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday, citing COVID-19 restrictions, politician Yekaterina Dutsova said Thursday. Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot dead as he walked on a bridge next to the Kremlin on the evening of February 27, 2015.

Jarmis also urged Navalny’s supporters around the world to lay flowers in his honor on Friday.

“Everyone who knew Alexei says what a happy, courageous and honest person he was,” Yarmysh said Thursday. “But the greater truth is that even if you never met Alexei, you knew what he was like too. You shared his research, went to rallies with him, read his posts from prison. His example showed many people what to do when even when things were scary and difficult.”

Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said his funeral was originally planned for Thursday – the day of Putin’s annual address to the nation – but no venue agreed to hold it then.

In an interview with the independent Russian news website Meduza, Zhdanov said that authorities pressured Navalny’s relatives to “hold a quiet family funeral.”