Alexei Navalny's final farewell: Moscow's quiet mourning amid school safety concerns

The funeral took place on a Friday, with the ceremony set to start at 11:00 AM GMT. Vladimir Putin's government ensured that the leading opposition figure's final farewell was not turned into a political event. The family was allowed to claim the body under the condition that the funeral would remain private.

Despite these restrictions, numerous politicians, diplomats, and thousands of ordinary citizens attended the ceremony to bid Navalny farewell for the last time.

One of the more unusual steps taken by the authorities was the notice sent to parents of children enrolled in schools within the Marino district, where Alexei Navalny's funeral was held.

Navalny's Funeral: School Director Warns Parents

As reported by the independent Russian TV channel Dozhd, some schools arranged an extra lesson purportedly about the World Civil Defense Day. Some parents dismissed this as a superficial pretext since such lessons had never been organized previously. This skepticism was validated when a clearer communication was eventually sent out.

One school explicitly cautioned parents that, "to ensure the safety of the children," they should stay in school until 4:15 PM GMT.

"If your child needs to leave school before 4:15 PM, please inform us, and it would be best to personally pick up your child from school," stated a message from the school director, as mentioned by the independent news portal Meduza.

Alexei Navalny was a prominent Russian politician and key opposition figure. Arrested in January 2021, he was sentenced in March 2022 to 9 years in a penal colony. In August 2023, he received an additional 19-year sentence. On February 16, 2024, Navalny's death at the age of 47 was announced to the world.