Mourners gathered in Moscow on Monday to mark two years since Alexei Navalny died in custody, with the ceremony unfolding under the backdrop of a Kremlin crackdown and fresh diplomatic pressure on Russia. Navalny died in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16, 2024, at age 47, while serving a 19-year sentence that many observers saw as politically motivated, and his death has left his movement leaderless and divided, according to the account.
At Borisovsky Cemetery, Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, and his mother-in-law, Alla Abrosimova, were among those laying flowers on his grave, as heavy snow blanketed the area. Representatives from several European embassies attended, where a heightened security presence was visible, and later a small choir gathered to sing by the graveside, AP reported. Addressing the crowd, Lyudmila Navalnaya said she believed Navalny’s death was not simply a prison death and told mourners, “We knew that our son did not simply die in prison. He was murdered.” The Kremlin, for its part, has denied that allegations, saying Navalny died of natural causes, and a presidential spokesperson said on Monday that the Kremlin does not accept such accusations.
The anniversary also coincided with continued efforts by European governments to tie Navalny’s death to poisoning. On Saturday, five European countries released a joint statement saying that analysis in their labs of samples taken from Navalny’s body “conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine,” a neurotoxin found in skin of poison dart frogs and described by the countries as not naturally found in Russia. In their statement, the countries said, “Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison.” AP said the assessment came as investigators reinforced suspicions that Navalny was killed by poisoning.
The European emphasis on the scientific findings did not remain confined to government statements. In a written tribute posted Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he paid tribute to Navalny’s memory and argued that “it is now clear that this death was premeditated,” while adding, “Two years ago, the world learned of the death of Alexei Navalny.” The French leader also wrote, “Truth always prevails, while we await justice to do the same,” linking the Kremlin with the opposition leader’s death in the process, according to AP.
Russia’s official response has continued to reject the allegations. AP reported that Moscow has said it does not accept the claims and that it has argued Navalny became unwell after going for a walk. When asked about the allegations on Monday, the presidential spokesperson said the Kremlin does “not accept such accusations,” adding, “We consider them biased and unfounded. In fact, we resolutely reject them,” AP reported. Separately, AP said Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany and wrote on social media that she had been “certain from the first day” her husband was poisoned, “but now there is proof,” and called Vladimir Putin “a murderer” who “must be held accountable.”
The anniversary further drew attention to an earlier poisoning that Navalny survived in 2020. AP reported that Navalny was the target of an earlier poisoning in 2020 involving a nerve agent, which he blamed on the Kremlin, though the Kremlin denied involvement; his family and allies later worked to have him flown to Germany for treatment, after which he returned to Russia. AP said that five months later, Navalny was arrested and imprisoned for the final three years of his life, culminating in the custody death in 2024.
While the scientific dispute and diplomatic fallout continued, Navalny’s death has also shaped the political landscape for Russia’s opposition outside Russia. AP reported that many closest allies and other key figures continue their fight from exile, including some who were handed lengthy prison sentences in absentia and cannot return. The report said some were also designated “terrorists and extremists” by Russian authorities, a label that had also been applied to Navalny in January 2022.
AP also described obstacles inside the opposition movement itself, noting that rival groups have traded accusations and struggled to form a single united front with a clear plan of action. As one potential development, AP said Europe’s leading human rights body, PACE, announced in late January the creation of a Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces designed to give opposition Russians a voice and a formal platform to engage European lawmakers, though it drew criticism because it was not elected democratically and because members of Navalny’s anti-corruption organization were absent. In a statement marking Navalny’s death, PACE said it saw his death as “an inevitable link in a chain of systemic crimes by the Kremlin regime against its own citizens and the citizens of foreign states,” and added, “Alexei Navalny gave his life for a free Russia,” saying that “We are obliged to ensure that his death was not in vain,” AP reported.