Among those detained was a local campaign coordinator for Boris Nadezhdin, the presidential hopeful who was disqualified from running against Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a vote later this month.
Nadezhdin, who attracted crowds of supporters by criticizing Russia’s war against Ukraine, has said he will attend the funeral. Yekaterina Duntsova, another opposition politician who was also disqualified from the electoral race, has also said she will be present. The results of the election to be held later this month are a foregone conclusion, with Putin certain to win again.
Since his sudden death in a penal colony north of the Arctic circle in February, Navalny’s team says it has faced constant obstruction from the Russian authorities.
The team has accused authorities of refusing to release Navalny’s body and then pressuring venues in Moscow not to stage his funeral.
As late as Thursday, on the eve of the funeral, Navalny’s spokesperson said they could not find a hearse to bring Navalny’s body to the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrows in the neighborhood of Maryino, where the service is set to start at 2 p.m. local time.
The service will be followed by a burial at a cemetery about a half-hour walk away.
