“He wasn’t afraid, and I’m not afraid”: Memorial events held worldwide on second anniversary of Navalny’s murder, arrests reported in Russia

On the second anniversary of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death, memorial events were held in both his home country and abroad.

Dozens of people gathered at Borisovskoye Cemetery in Moscow, where Navalny is buried, including representatives of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Italy, Spain, and Latvia, according to a report by the independent outlet SotaVision. Navalny’s mother and mother-in-law — Lyudmila Navalnaya and Alla Abrosimova, respectively — were also present.

The service was led by priest Dmitry Safronov, who in 2024 was suspended from clerical duties for conducting a previous memorial service for the opposition leader.

Several vehicles of Russia’s National Guard were stationed outside the cemetery, and masked officers from Center “E” — which combats “extremist” activity — were on duty. One visitor to the cemetery told The Insider: “It’s not scary (to come to the grave), because he wasn’t afraid, and I’m not afraid. I come to Alexei more often than to my relatives. I miss him a lot when I don’t go to the grave for a long time. When I’m there, I try to put things in order and bring more people with me. I really want to be worthy of his memory and I will thank his parents and family for him. He showed us an example of courage, honesty and humor. That is a big gift for all of us.”

SotaVision also reported that on the anniversary of Navalny’s death, flowers appeared at the Solovetsky Stone near the FSB building at Lubyanka in central Moscow; the site is one Russia’s best-known monuments to victims of political repression. A police transport van and security officers were on duty near the stone.

Flowers and a note also appeared near Navalny’s home in Moscow.

Russians also brought flowers, candles, and notes to makeshift memorials and monuments to victims of political repression in St. Petersburg, Barnaul, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Perm, Gorno-Altaysk, among other Russian cities.

A note at a memorial in Gorno-Altaysk read: “Alexei, we remember you! Now your name is for the ages. You were a leader, and you became a banner! Now in our hearts you are that very Stormy Petrel from Gorky’s poem! And the memory of you cannot be killed! P.S.: There is no more courageous and patient person than you!”

As of 15:00 Moscow time, at least two arrests at memorial events in Russia had been confirmed. In Volgograd, a man was detained without explanation at a monument to victims of political repression, he told human rights project OVD-Info. The detainee was taken to the 4th police department, after which he stopped responding.

In St. Petersburg, police detained a man over a photo of a memorial to victims of political repression on Voskresenskaya Embankment, the outlet RusNews wrote. He told journalists he was taken to the 76th police station and that officers planned to issue him a fine.

Also in St. Petersburg, people were no longer being allowed to approach the memorial — the official reason given was that construction work was underway in the area. The monument was cordoned off with mesh fencing and a crane was set up, with police officers on duty nearby, a witness told RusNews.

Memorial events are also being held abroad. In the morning, Russian-speaking residents of Dusseldorf burned a photo of an Ecuadorian frog, laid flowers and candles, and put up banners and posters reading “We will not forget, we will not forgive.”

Events dedicated to Navalny were planned in at least 112 cities in 39 countries around the world, from Argentina to Vietnam.

In Tbilisi, Georgia, police barred Russians from holding a Navalny memorial rally, activists from the Frame community said. The event was moved to an indoor space due to the ban.

Alexei Navalny died on Feb. 16, 2024, at penal colony IK-3 in the settlement of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District of Russia. As The Insider reported on Feb. 14, an expert examination carried out at the initiative of the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands found epibatidine in samples taken from Navalny’s body that had been smuggled out of Russia by his family members. An official press release from the five countries’ foreign ministries concluded that “collaborative work has confirmed through laboratory testing that the deadly toxin found in the skin of Ecuador dart frogs (epibatidine) was found in samples from Alexei Navalny’s body and highly likely resulted in his death.”