Hundreds of exiled anti-war Russians rallied across European capitals, often in front of Russian embassies, to mourn the death of Vladimir Putin’s most vocal critic, Alexei Navalny, and vent their anger at what they said was a murder of their pride and hope.
In Brussels Uccle district, more than 100 people rallied near the Russian embassy a few hours after hearing the news of Navalny’s death in a Russian prison in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district.
Many carried placards with photos of Navalny and anti-Putin slogans, chanting: “Murderers!”, “Navalny is the pride of Russia”, “Heroes don’t die!”
The police cordoned off the sidewalk outside the embassy. But across the street, protesters organised a makeshift memorial, with photos of Navalny, flowers and candles.
“We counted 117 people here,” a police officer told the Euractiv correspondentat the scene. He asked to see a journalist’s ID card before answering questions.
“I need to make sure you’re a journalist,” the police officer said.
Similar groups also gathered in Berlin, Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Sofia, Geneva, The Hague, and other cities, Reuters reported. In Russia itself, prosecutors warned Russians against participating in any mass protest in Moscow.
In Brussels, four police cars and more than ten armed officers were present at the scene at 6 pm when the rally started.
Some of the protesters had their faces covered with medical masks or scarves. They said Russian diplomats allegedly use face-identification cameras and fear that the Russian state will want to cause them trouble even for protesting outside the embassy in Belgium.
Among the protesters, a woman with a candle in her hands stood a little further away.
“I’ve lived in Belgium for a long time, but I don’t participate too actively in political actions. But today I couldn’t help but come,” the woman said, giving her name as Nadezhda.
“Navalny’s death will hit the spirit of democratically minded Russians,” she said. “Although maybe it will only anger them even more.”
Among those gathered were women and men of various ages – both students and the middle-aged.
“I came from Antwerp, I study there,” said one of the men, holding a placard in his hands. He was passing through Brussels on Friday and immediately decided to come.
Polina, one of the participants in the Russians’ anti-war Facebook chat room, said organising the rally was difficult because Belgian law requires a two-week notice to the police.
“But we were lucky, the police allowed us to gather at the Russian embassy, even though it’s harder to get here than to the headquarters of the Russian mission to the EU, which is in the centre,” Polina said.
She refused to share her contacts on social media and said she had taken extra precautions. “I came here without my iPhone, I’m afraid that they (the Russian Embassy) can use their equipment to remotely hack into my cell phone,” Polina explained.
Navalny’s death triggered different reactions.
A protester named Boris said that they “have been robbed of hope”. But a man standing next to him was more upbeat.
“Someone else will take Alexei’s place. I believe. We have many people in Russia who can become new leaders in the fight against Putin’s power,” the man said, declining to give his name.
As the rally dispersed peacefully, they agreed to meet again on 24 February, the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
Moscow Times’ Petr Kozlov is hosted at Euractiv under the EU-funded EU4FreeMedia residency program.
