ALEXEI Navalny's coffin was lowered into a grave to the song My Way by Frank Sinatra as large crowds chanted "Russia without Putin".
The Russian opposition leader was bid farewell at a moving open-casket funeral today - two weeks after his unexplained death.
Footage from the scene showed a large crowd of people clapping and shouting Navalny's name as the hearse transporting his body arrived at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows.
Mourners were heard chanting: "Putin is a killer", "We won't forget", "Freedom for political prisoners", and "Russia without Putin".
More than 1,000 people waited near the church to pay their respects to the anti-corruption activist, according to one of his allies.
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Many were carrying flowers and stood in silence as uniformed officers checked documents and personal belongings before the ceremony.
The politician's parents - Anatoly Navalny and Lyudmila Navalnaya - were seen walking to the church in Moscow ahead of the ceremony.
His widow Yulia Navalnaya - understood to be outside of Russia - was not in attendance.
She paid tribute to her late husband following the funeral on X, thanking him for "26 years of absolute happiness... even over the last three years".
Yulia added: "For love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for the fact that you always thought about me.
"I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don't know if I can handle it or not, but I will try."
Fewer than 300 people were allowed inside the church where the farewell ceremony was held "as quickly as possible", according to Navalny's team.
Video showed Navalny's mother Lyudmila saying farewell to her son in his open coffin, surrounded by other mourners holding candles.
Many came forward to lay flowers on his body.
The opposition leader's coffin was carried out of the church less than an hour after the ceremony began and moved to the Borisovskoye Cemetery.
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A white shroud was placed over Navalny's head and mourners walked up to the casket to pay their respects.
The politician's parents stood either side of the coffin as it was closed and lowered into the grave to the song My Way by Frank Sinatra, his spokeswoman said.
Russian state media all but ignored the funeral ceremony.
Navalny, 47, died in Polar Wolf jail in the Russian Arctic on February 16 while serving a 19-year sentence on trumped-up extremism charges.
It was alleged his body was found covered in bruises.
Western leaders and members of his camp have since claimed he was "murdered" on the direct orders of Vladimir Putin.
Pictures and footage captured this morning outside the church showed a major operation involving Russian police and security services.
Secret servicemen were seen patrolling the nearby rooftops. It was unclear if they were snipers or crowd-watchers.
And buses with armed police were seen in the vicinity of the church and the graveyard, along with police vans - or cells on wheels - seemingly poised for expected arrests.
Police wearing helmets and carrying tear gas canisters patrolled the area.
The Kremlin has nothing to say to Navalny's relatives on the day of his funeral
Dmitry Peskov
Iron fences surrounded the church, apparently intended to limit Navalny's supporters' access to the farewell ceremony, and a notice advised people not to film or take photographs.
At least one person was pictured being arrested at the funeral.
Navalny's team shared a message to the world as the funeral began, writing on social media: "Putin killed Alexei Navalny."
The Kremlin earlier warned against unsanctioned gatherings for the late opposition leader.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible."
It was feared Putin's cops would once again crack down on Navalny's supporters.
Police detained more than 400 people across the country at memorials and rallies to honour Navalny the day after he died in jail.
As Navalny's body today set out on his last journey to his funeral earlier today, Peskov said: "The Kremlin has nothing to say to Navalny's relatives on the day of his funeral."
Navalny associate Leonid Volkov said the only words Navalny's family needed from Putin "are those he’ll say before the judge".
Mere hours before the funeral, Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said the late opposition leader's team were unable to find a hearse to drive the body to the church.
She said: "Unknown people are calling mortuaries and threatening them if they accept to take Alexei's body."
Authorities were said to be treating the funeral and burial as a major military operation against pro-democracy Navalny supporters.
Speculation swirled that male pro-Navalny supporters might be detained and sent away to fight in Putin's war in Ukraine.
Navalny's team urged his backers to try and attend today's events - comprising a funeral service at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows followed by a burial at the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery.
Earlier this week, Navalny's widow Yulia raised fears that Putin would order arrests at her husband's funeral.
Several venues in Moscow refused to hold the funeral service before the church in the city's southeast agreed, Navalny's team claimed.
Police put up barriers near the church yesterday and said they were checking the passports of people in the area to "prevent terrorist operations".
An associate of Navalny's, Ivan Zhdanov, said the funeral service at the temple "will be open to everyone", not just relatives.
But politician Ruslan Shaveddinov, a former Navalny press secretary, claimed some activists were last night warned not to attend.
He said: "The Moscow authorities and the Kremlin are trying to intimidate everyone who wants to come.
"I don’t want to shout, urging everyone to come, because we are talking about a funeral.
"And we treat this as organising the farewell and funeral of Alexei Navalny."
Shaveddinov added that the warnings issued to activists were being treated "as a tool of intimidation".
He continued: "Of course, they want to create horror so that everyone will be scared.
"But this is the farewell and funeral of Alexei Navalny, this is not a rally, not a political procession.
"This is an opportunity for a huge number of people for whom Alexei meant something, for whom he was important, to come and say goodbye to him for the last time."
There were reports of smartphone signals being disrupted close to the funeral location.
A woman who flew 900 miles from Perm to Moscow said today: "I had high hopes for this man, he was very strong, very brave.
"I would like to see people today who also support him.
"The pain in my heart is such that I cannot describe it - so hard."
