Your trusted source

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny's funeral service and burial will take place in Moscow on Friday, Reuters reported, citing his spokesperson.

Kira Yarmysh, his spokesperson, posted on X that a service for Navalny would be held on Friday at 1400 Moscow time (1100 GMT) in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the Moscow district of Maryino where Navalny used to live.

Navalny would then be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, which is located on the other side of the Moskva River to the south, Yarmysh said.

Such services, presided over by a priest and accompanied by choral singing, usually allow people to file past the open casket of the deceased to say their farewell. The chosen Russian Orthodox church is an imposing five-domed white building in a built-up suburb of southeastern Moscow.

It was not immediately clear how the authorities would ensure crowd control.

Navalny, 47, died at an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16. His allies have accused President Vladimir Putin of having him murdered because the Russian leader could allegedly not tolerate the thought of Navalny being freed in a potential prisoner swap.

They have not published proof to back up that accusation, but have promised to set out how he was murdered and by whom.