In the capital of Russia, Moscow, preparations are being made for the funeral of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony two weeks ago. The blessing ceremony is planned to be held in the southeastern Marino district at the church of the icon of the Holy Mother “Liennytä suruni” at 1 p.m. Finnish time. Navalnyi is scheduled to be buried at the nearby Borisov cemetery at 3 p.m. Finnish time. It is unclear whether anyone other than Navalny’s family and friends will be able to enter the church and the cemetery. The authorities have erected metal fences near the church and the cemetery. There is a sign on the door of the church that prohibits filming and recording in the church. A large number of police patrols have been on duty at the cemetery since Thursday. Navalny’s allies said yesterday, Thursday, that they have had trouble even getting a hearse to transport Navalny’s body from the morgue to the church. Navalny’s former chief of staff, Leonid Volkov, said that the funeral services had refused to allow the hearse to be used because unknown persons had made threatening calls to them.
Heikki Heiskanen, Moscow