Navalny's funeral held amid tight security as Russians chant outside

Thousands of Russians chanted opposition politician Alexei Navalny's name on Friday and said they would not forgive the authorities for his death as his mother and father attended a small funeral in a Moscow church surrounded by police.

A photograph of Navalny released on social media showed his body lying inside a flower-laden coffin inside as his mother, wearing a black headscarf and with a candle in one hand, sat alongside his father nearby.

An Orthodox priest presided over the short service, while outside, people queuing around the church that had been prevented from entering to say goodbye clapped and chanted "Navalny! Navalny!"

After his coffin had been carried out, some people chanted "Russia will be free", "No to war", "Russia without Putin", "We won't forget" and "Putin is a murderer."

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic inside Russia, died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony on February 16, sparking accusations from his supporters that he had been murdered. The Kremlin has denied any state involvement in his death.

The authorities have outlawed his movement as extremist and cast his supporters as U.S.-backed troublemakers out to foment revolution.

His funeral comes two weeks before a presidential election when Putin, Russia's paramount leader for over 20 years and in charge of all the levers of state, is expected to easily win another six-year term.

There was heavy security at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, an imposing white domed building in south-east Moscow where the service was held.




Reuters