Alexei Navalny's parents, supporters gather in Moscow as opposition leader is laid to rest

Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow, after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony.

Navalny was buried at a cemetery in the snowy southeastern outskirts of the capital after a short Russian Orthodox ceremony, with vast crowds waiting outside the church and then streaming to the fresh grave of President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic with flowers and anti-government chants.

Although riot police set up barricades at both the church and cemetery, no detentions were reported.

His supporters said several churches in Moscow refused to hold the service before Navalny's team got permission from one in the capital's Maryino district, where he once lived.

The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which agreed to hold the service, did not mention it on its social media page. Authorities lined the road from a nearby subway station to the church with crowd-control barriers, and riot police deployed in big numbers early Friday. 

After the hearse arrived at the church, the coffin could be seen on livestreamed footage being taken out of the vehicle, as the crowd applauded and chanted: "Navalny! Navalny!"

A photo from inside the church showed an open casket with Navalny's body covered with red and white flowers, and his mother sitting beside it holding a candle.

Hours before the funeral started, hundreds waited to enter under the watch of police. Western diplomats were spotted in the long line. Sarah Taylor, Canada's ambassador to Russia, had been expected to attend, CBC News learned.

Presidential hopefuls Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova were also seen. Both wanted to run against Russian President Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections later this month, each opposing the war in Ukraine. Both were declared ineligible to run.

Burial took place in the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where police also showed up in force. Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his Feb. 16 death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometres northeast of Moscow.

Anatoly Navalny, the politician's father, was also seen entering the church on Friday.

Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is outside the country. Just two days ago, she addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

She paid tribute to her husband on social media platform X shortly after his burial, thanking him for "26 years of absolute happiness."

"I don't know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me," she said. "I don't know if I'll manage it or not, but I will try."