More Than 400 Detained in Russia at Events in Memory of Navalny, Rights Group Says

Police officers detain people during a gathering in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny near the Wall of Grief monument to the victims of political repressions in Moscow, on Feb. 17, 2024. Stringer/Reuters

ST PETERSBURG, Russia—More than 400 people have been detained at events across 32 Russian cities since the death of Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most formidable opponent, according to rights group OVD-Info, as Russians continued to gather and lay flowers.

It has been the largest wave of arrests at political events in Russia since Sept. 2022, when more than 1,300 were arrested at demonstrations against a “partial mobilization” of reservists for Putin’s military campaign in Ukraine.