Muscovites continued to visit the grave of murdered opposition leader Alexey Navalny on Saturday, a day after his funeral service and burial were defiantly held by his supporters amid a huge police presence.
Thousands of visitors patiently lined up for hours on Friday afternoon to pay their respects to Navalny’s grave at the city’s Borisovsky Cemetery. The stream of visitors continued on Saturday, and the tombstone itself is no longer visible due to the number of flowers that have been placed on it.
“At the cemetery they ask people not spend too long on their farewell, Navalny’s name is not mentioned, he is simply referred to as ”the deceased", one visitor told independent broadcaster Dozhd. Another said that the police had not been aggressive, but were lining the streets all the way to the cemetery.
Navalny’s mother Lyudmila Navalnaya returned to the cemetery with Alla Abrosimova, the mother of Navalny's widow Yulia on Saturday morning. Abrosimova spoke briefly on Friday at her son-in-law’s grave, paying tribute to him and remembering the couple’s happier times.
Visitors are reportedly not being prevented from accessing the grave by police, but they were being searched before entering the cemetery and food and liquids were reportedly being confiscated.
