The funeral of a Russian dissident always reflects the political moment. In freer times, the body may lie in state as thousands of supporters file past; in darker days, the last rites can be confined to a prison graveyard. With all eyes on Alexei Navalny’s burial, set for Friday, it will show just how far into the past Russia has slid under Vladimir Putin.
It was still a dark period in 1986 when Anatoly Marchenko, the last political prisoner before Navalny to die behind bars, was laid to rest. He died after a 117-day hunger strike to demand the release of all the country’s political prisoners. Navalny said he considered Marchenko to be his hero.
