Funeral for Deceased Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Draws Thousands in Moscow

Ceremony for Putin’s fiercest domestic critic draws well-wishers despite Kremlin’s warning against ‘unauthorized gatherings.’

Lyudmila Navalnaya (3rd R front) and Anatoly Navalny (2nd R front), parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attend a funeral ceremony for their son at the Borisovskoye Cemetery in Moscow on March 1, 2024. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

Thousands of Russians turned out on March 1 for the funeral of Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition figure who died abruptly last month—at age 47—in an Arctic penal colony.

Surrounded by police, mourners chanted Mr. Navalny’s name in unison outside of the Moscow church where the funeral was held.