Thousands of Mourners Show Up For Alexei Navalny Funeral, Defy Putin

Alexei Navalny — Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s chief political rival – certainly didn’t die in vain as illustrated by these emotional images from his Friday funeral in Moscow.

Navalny was celebrated by thousands of people – some holding flowers – as his body lying in a closed coffin was carried inside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows. His line of supporters was truly extraordinary, stretching several blocks.

Many of the mourners defied orders from Russian authorities to not take photos of the procession or the service. Someone posted a picture on Navalny’s YouTube channel showing his body in repose shrouded by flowers inside the church.

His parents were present, carrying lit candles. But his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and his two children, Daria and Zakhar, did not attend the funeral, likely for security reasons.

Meanwhile, four hundred people have been detained by Putin’s police force, including some for merely displaying flowers at Navalny’s various memorial sites

As you know, Navalny died February 16 while imprisoned in a penal colony north of the Artic Circle. During a walk, Navalny suddenly felt sick and collapsed unconscious. Paramedics responded and gave him medical assistance, but they were unable to revive him.

His official cause of death has not been disclosed, but his mother, Lyudmila, was told by prison officials Navalny suffered “‘sudden death syndrome.” The condition causes heart problems that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest and death.