Alexei Navalny’s funeral and Russia’s war in Ukraine, live

Yulia Navalnaya is the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp in Strasbourg, France on February 28, 2024. (Reuters/Johanna Geron TPX Images of the Day)

In her first comments on the day of her late husband’s funeral, Yulia Navalnaya posted a video in which she said: “Lyosha (Alexey Navalny’s nickname), thank you for 26 years of complete happiness. Yes, for the happiness of the last three Also “For love, for always being by my side, for making me laugh even from jail, for the fact that you always thought about me.”

He said, “I don’t know how to live without you, but I’ll try to keep you there happy and proud of me. I don’t know if I can handle it, but I’ll try.” ,

While the opposition leader’s parents were present at the funeral, Navalnya was not. Before the funeral, he had said that he was worried that the police would crack down on the mourners.

“We will definitely meet one day. I have so many untold stories for you, and so many songs saved for you on my phone, stupid and funny… frankly, terrible songs, but they’re about us , and I really wanted you to hear them and I really wanted to see you listening to them, laughing and then hugging you,” he said in the video release.

The message, via a video that included photos of their years together and a photo of Navalny surrounded by candles, ended with the words: “I will love you forever. May he rest in peace.”