Alexey Navalny’s funeral to be held in Moscow on Friday, March 1

Alexey Navalny’s funeral will be held in Moscow’s Maryino District at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 1, the politician’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh announced on Wednesday.

The ceremony will be held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Assuage My Sorrow,” and Navalny will be buried in Moscow’s Borisov Cemetery, Yarmysh said.

Navalny ally Ivan Zhdanov reported that the funeral was originally planned for February 29 but that it “quickly became clear” that there was “not a single person who could dig the grave” by that date. “The real reason is obvious. The Kremlin understands that nobody will give a shit about Putin and his address [to Russia's Federal Assembly] if Alexey’s funeral is the same day,” he explained.

Navalny’s team then found a large venue in Moscow’s Novokosino but the rental agreement “didn’t materialize,” Zhdanov said.

“Like in Salekhard, they laid down the condition that it had to be a ‘quiet family funeral at the Khovanskoye Cemetery.’ Exactly like how they blackmailed his mother when they refused to give up Alexey’s body,” he said. “So basically, there won’t be a funeral hall. Assholes. They won’t give us a date. They won’t give us a venue. But everyone will bid farewell to Alexey anyway.”

“If you want a chance to say goodbye, it’s better to come early,” Zhdanov added.