In the aftermath of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s passing in a prison camp, his bereaved family, including his widow and daughter, have made a direct and poignant appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They have requested the President to release Navalny’s remains so that he may be granted a dignified burial.
Putin, who publicly identifies as a devout follower of Christianity, has been described as treating the deceased’s remains with disrespect and displaying “open Satanism,” according to Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya. She conveyed these sentiments via a video message that was released on Saturday. She accused Putin of holding her late husband’s body hostage. “Hand over Alexei. They inflicted torture upon him when he was alive and continue to do so posthumously,” she stated, adding, “They are violating every human and divine law.”
Navalny’s daughter, Darja, shared a message on social networking site X (previously known as Twitter) on Saturday, pleading, “Give grandma my father’s body.” Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, had previously expressed in a video released on Thursday that Putin’s authorities were attempting to force her to participate in a clandestine funeral and had issued threats concerning the state of the corpse. The late Navalny’s spouse has accused Putin of persistently tormenting Navalny’s mother in an attempt to crush her spirit.
Kira Jarmisch, Navalny’s spokesperson, has reported that Russian investigators threatened that they would bury Navalny’s body within the confines of the penal colony where he died, in the event of his family refusing to accept a secret funeral.
Yulia Navalnaya criticized Putin, who is often seen in Russian Orthodox churches holding a lit candle and venerating icons, for being motivated by hatred and vengeance, and not by the Christian values he purports to uphold. “No, it’s not even hatred, it’s Satanism, paganism.” But faith is about goodness, about mercy, about redemption. “And no true Christian could ever do what Putin is doing now with dead Alexei.”
She also condemned Putin’s military campaign against Ukraine, which he is allegedly using as a means to bolster his support among traditionalist Russian Orthodox Christians. The Kremlin leader is waging his battle against the West by promoting traditional values. “But you just kill, bomb sleeping civilians at night with rockets that were blessed in the church,” Navalnaya stated. The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, is a confidant of Putin and a fervent supporter of the war against Ukraine. Clergy repeatedly publicly bless rockets.
Navalny passed away on February 16, as per official reports in the penal colony known unofficially as “Polar Wolf” in the Siberian Arctic region of Yamal. The exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. Rumors suggest that the politician, physically weakened by a poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, collapsed during a walk in the frosty prison yard and died despite resuscitation attempts. Navalny’s team has stated that his death certificate cites “natural” causes.
Political analysts suggest that the Kremlin harbors fears that Navalny’s funeral could turn into a public spectacle. Presidential elections in Russia are slated for mid-March. Putin’s victory in the forthcoming elections is seen as a foregone conclusion, given the lack of any significant competition.
