The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died earlier this month in a remote Arctic penal colony, will take place on Friday in Moscow after several locations declined to host the service, his spokesperson said.
His funeral will be held at a church in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, Kira Yarmysh said Wednesday. The burial is to be at a nearby cemetery.
Navalny died in mid-February. Russian authorities said the cause of his death at age 47 is still unknown.
Ms. Yarmysh spoke of the difficulties his team encountered in trying to find a site for a “farewell event” for Navalny.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, she said most venues said they were fully booked, with some “refusing when we mention the surname ‘Navalny,” and one disclosing that “funeral agencies were forbidden to work with us.”
Shortly after the announcement of the funeral plans, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, addressed European lawmakers in Strasbourg.
Speaking at the European Parliament, she confirmed that her husband would be buried on Friday and expressed fears that the police might interfere.
Ms. Navalnaya and Navalny were married for more than 20 years, and she was at his side as he helped lead the biggest protests in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
