Russian funeral parlours have been ‘prohibited’ from hosting a service for Alexei Navalny after his death in an Arctic penal colony, the Putin critic’s allies have claimed.

Navalny’s spokeswoman said today that his allies had been unable to find a venue in Russia where people could pay their respects to the opposition leader, who many in the West believe was murdered at the request of Putin earlier this month. 

Kira Yarmysh wrote on X: ‘Since yesterday we have been looking for a site where we can say farewell to Alexei. We called round most private and public funeral agencies, commercial sites and funeral halls.

‘Some places say the space is busy, some places refuse upon mention of the name “Navalny”. In one place we were directly told that funeral agencies were prohibited from working with us.’

Navalny’s team say they are being barred by Moscow funeral halls from holding a farewell ceremony for the opposition leader.

Navalny’s spokeswoman said today that his allies had been unable to find a venue in Russia where people could pay their respects to the opposition leader who died in prison this month

A photo of Navalny lies among flowers near the Wall of Grief monument in Moscow, on February 17

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church patriarch Kirill is also reported to have called on the Russian President to pass the body of devout Navalny to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya.

Navalny died in the Polar Wolf penal colony just hours after appearing in a live court video feed looking fit and healthy.

Putin’s officials appear to be seeking to block a funeral for Navalny on February 29, when the dictator makes a major annual speech to the Russian Federal Assembly.

The address is seen as setting out his plans for the coming years of his dictatorship.

He views it as a key moment of his election campaign seeking a new six-year term, even though the result – a landslide victory – is a foregone conclusion. 

One informed source told Verstka that the Kremlin did not want a clash between Navalny’s funeral and Putin’s speech.

‘Now nothing should distract from the president’s message, which is essentially his [election] programme. In this sense, March 1 is the ideal date [for the funeral,’ the source said.

The Kremlin today warned Russians not to use Navalny’s funeral as a moment for protests.

‘These people, so-called supporters [of Navalny] are well known for their provocative calls – to break the laws of the Russian Federation,’ said Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church patriarch Kirill is also reported to have called on the Russian President to pass the body of devout Navalny to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya (pictured)

Putin’s officials appear to be seeking to block a funeral for Navalny on February 29, when the dictator makes a major annual speech to the Russian Federal Assembly

Navalny died in the Polar Wolf penal colony in the Russian Arctic just hours after appearing in a live court video feed looking fit and healthy

‘This is a very harmful practice and has legal and law enforcement consequences for those who respond to these calls.’

It took nine days for the body to be given to Navalny’s mother. Russian officials say he died of ‘natural causes’.

Associates of Navalny said yesterday that talks were underway shortly before his death to exchange him for a Russian imprisoned in Germany.

‘Alexei Navalny could have been sitting here now, today. It’s not a figure of speech,’ Maria Pevchikh, a close associate who lives outside Russia, said in a video statement posted on social media. 

She said she received confirmation the talks were in the ‘final stages’ on February 15, the day before Navalny was reported dead.

Her claims, which were reiterated on social media by other Navalny aides, could not be independently confirmed and she did not offer any evidence to back them up.

According to Pevchikh, Navalny and two US citizens held in Russia were supposed to be swapped for Vadim Krasikov. 

He was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan ‘Tornike’ Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent. 

German judges said Krasikov acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport and resources to carry out the killing.

German officials have refused to comment when asked if there had been any effort by Russia to secure a swap of Krasikov.