Accident – Death – Obituary News :
The sudden passing of Alexei Navalny at the age of 47 in a Siberian penitentiary has thrown both the Kremlin and the Moscow Patriarchate into disarray as they grapple with the handling of his remains.
Concerns have arisen over the Kremlin’s reluctance to allow Navalny’s loved ones access to his body, fueling suspicions about the circumstances surrounding his demise.
It is evident that the Kremlin is keen to avoid turning the grave of a vocal critic of Putin into a site of protest against his regime.
Furthermore, the situation presents a dilemma for Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, a staunch supporter of Putin, as Navalny, who converted to Orthodoxy, would likely have wished for a religious burial. This poses a challenge for the church’s alignment with state power.
Navalny, who was serving a lengthy sentence for alleged extremism and outspoken criticism of Putin, was imprisoned in a harsh penal colony in the frigid north of the Arctic Circle.
Navalny’s Spiritual Journey
In an interview with Open Democracy, Navalny expressed his transition from being an atheist to embracing Christianity:
“I am a believer; I like being a Christian and a member of the Orthodox Church, I like to feel part of something large and universal. I like the fact that there is a distinctive ethos and certain asceticism. But at the same time I am quite happy to live in a predominantly atheist milieu. Up to the age of 25 or so, when I became a father, I was such a rabid atheist that I was ready to grab any priest by the beard.”
Navalny, Orthodoxy, and Religious Freedom
In the same interview, Navalny discussed the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in society:
“Orthodoxy is the principal religion of Russia, and we shouldn’t fool ourselves by trying to insist on absolute equality. The Russian Orthodox Church’s special role is understandable and reasonable…
We should not, however, deny the obvious fact that the religion of Russia is Orthodox Christianity. This does not, I repeat, imply any discrimination against anyone else. Any limitation on the rights of members of other confessions, or of atheists, should be punishable by law.”
European Court’s Rulings
The European Court of Human Rights found violations in the case of Navalny’s poisoning, highlighting Russia’s failure to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
In a separate case, the Court ruled that Navalny’s conviction for fraud and money laundering was based on arbitrary and unfair proceedings.
The rulings underscore the challenges faced by critics of the Russian government and the limitations on freedom of expression in the country.
This detailed analysis has been contributed by Willy Fautré, the Editor-in-Chief of Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF).
The original article can be accessed on the HRWF website.
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