February 16, 2026

Memorial events for Alexei Navalny held worldwide. At least 14 people detained in Russia

Mother of Alexei Navalny, Lyudmila Navalnaya (right), and his mother-in-law, Alla Abrosimova (center), lay flowers at his grave at Borisovskoye Cemetery in Moscow on February 16, 2026. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP / Scanpix / LETA. Memorial events for Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16, 2024, at IK-3 in Kharpe, are taking place in Russian cities and around the world. Earlier, NATO country laboratories established that the politician was killed using epibatidine – a supertoxic poison extracted from the skin of a South American frog. What is happening at Borisovskoye Cemetery in Moscow As SOTAvision writes, dozens of people came to the opening of Borisovskoye Cemetery, including representatives of the diplomatic missions of Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Latvia, and other European countries. Several Rosgvardia vehicles with a Z on the hood are parked at the cemetery gates, and employees of the "E" center in masks are on duty, the publication notes. Alexei Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Ivanovna, and Yulia Navalnaya's mother, Alla Vladimirovna, also arrived at the cemetery. In a conversation with journalists, Lyudmila Navalnaya noted that the conclusions of international experts only confirmed what Navalny's family had known from the beginning – Alexei was poisoned. Now, according to her, it is necessary to establish the names of the murderers. "I think it will take some time, but we will find out who did it. Of course, we want it to happen in our country, and we want justice to prevail," Lyudmila Ivanovna said. A wreath sent on behalf of journalist Antonina Favorskaya, who is currently serving a sentence in a penal colony, appeared at Navalny's grave in Moscow. A picketer with a poster saying "Russia will be free! 16.02.2024" was detained at the main entrance to VDNKh in Moscow. The detainee turned out to be a minor. The father of the young man, who came to pick up his son from the police station, was issued a report under the administrative article on non-fulfillment of duties for child upbringing (Part 1, Article 5.35 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), OVD-Info reported. Journalist Grigory Potemkin was detained along with the minor who was holding a solo picket, human rights defenders said. The man was released without a report. Other Russian cities In St. Petersburg, the memorial to the victims of political repression on Voskresenskaya Embankment was fenced off with a net fence and a crane was installed, presumably to create the appearance of "carrying out work," RusNews writes. At the same time, three police officers are on duty nearby. As a result, in St. Petersburg, people began to bring flowers to the Solovetsky Stone. On Voskresenskaya Embankment, security forces detained a young man who photographed the fenced-off memorial to the victims of political repression. He was later released without a report, RusNews reported. Alexandra Churakova, 22, was also detained in St. Petersburg. According to the latest data, she is at the police station, and a lawyer has not been allowed to see her. A local resident detained in Volgograd, who came to the monument to the victims of political repression, was also released without a report. At least nine more people were detained in Ufa, OVD-Info reported, citing one of the detainees. Six people were later released without a report after a conversation with an employee of the "E" Center. Residents of Saratov, on the second anniversary of Alexei Navalny's death, brought flowers to the monument to the Soviet scientist Nikolai Vavilov, who was repressed on false charges and died in prison, SOTA reported. In Yekaterinburg, a portrait of the politician and a candle were left near the monument "Sedoy Ural" on Defense Square, readers of It's My City told. In addition, flowers, wreaths, and carnations were also brought to the "Mask of Grief" monument, located on the 12th kilometer of the Moscow Highway outside the city, the "Yashcheritsa" project reported. In Omsk, the first flowers appeared at the memorial to the victims of political repression on the evening of February 15, after which the territory around it was cordoned off, the "Omsk Civil Association" noted. In Yaroslavl and Perm, people brought flowers to the monuments to the victims of political repression. International reaction On the second anniversary of Navalny's death, 15 countries again called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances of Navalny's death in prison. The statement was signed by Great Britain, Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, New Zealand, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. In the document, politicians expressed condolences to Navalny's family and held the Russian authorities responsible for his death. The statement, in particular, refers to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, according to which Russia is responsible for the inhumane treatment of Navalny and the disregard for his complaints. The signatories also expressed serious concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia, pointing to more than 1700 politically motivated detentions, and called on Moscow to release political prisoners and comply with its international obligations. French President Emmanuel Macron posted a message in Russian on his social media dedicated to Navalny's death. "Two years ago, the world learned of the death of Alexei Navalny, whose memory I honor. I then stated my conviction that his death is clear evidence of the Kremlin's weakness and its fear of any opponent. Today it is clear that it was deliberate," Macron said.