Over 400 Detained in Russia for Mourning Navalny

Russian authorities have detained over 400 people across Russia for publicly mourning the death of Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader and prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who died unexpectedly in prison last week.

According to the independent Russian human rights group OVD-info, 387 people were detained in 39 Russian cities between Friday and Sunday, with an additional 28 detained in 15 cities on Monday morning. The majority of the detentions occurred in St. Petersburg, where at least 216 people were detained, and in Moscow, where 64 were taken into custody.

The rights group reported on its Telegram feed that police were beating some of the detainees and seizing their devices. Authorities have cracked down on any public displays of support for Navalny, targeting individuals carrying his photos or laying flowers at memorials.

Russia’s state-controlled media has not covered the memorials or the arrests, instead focusing on criticism of the Western reaction to Navalny’s death.

Navalny’s death in prison was announced last week by Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, which claimed he lost consciousness after complaining of feeling unwell and that the prison’s medical team was unable to revive him. However, Navalny’s supporters and Western leaders have raised doubts about Russia’s account, with many holding the Kremlin and Putin directly responsible for his death. Navalny was serving multiple prison sentences, including a 19-year term handed down in August last year after he was found guilty of extremism. He was held in the “Polar Wolf” prison in the Arctic autonomous region of Yamal-Nenets.

Navalny’s team has accused Russian authorities of hiding his body. His spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh, said on Monday that Navalny’s mother and lawyers were not allowed inside the morgue and were told that the investigation into his death had been extended, with the cause of death still listed as “unknown.”

This crackdown on mourners is the largest since Russian authorities detained over 1,300 people protesting Putin’s efforts to mobilize more troops to support the invasion of Ukraine in September 2022. According to OVD, a total of 19,855 people have been detained for participating in anti-war protests since February 2022.