Thousands came to honour him in Moscow at the funeral that his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, fought so hard to have.
It is hard to grasp that Alexei Navalny is gone.
Navalny was a colossus of a man, whose energy, irreverence and astonishing determination touched a chord with so many in Russia who opposed Vladimir Putin’s rule and who dreamed their country might be different.
His death felt personal to them.
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That is why so many thousands came to honour him in Moscow at the funeral that his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, fought so hard to have.
They queued along the pavements on both sides of the church in long, orderly lines.
People crowded on to the stairways of neighbouring shops to try and get a glimpse as the coffin went into the church.
They knew they were unlikely to get in themselves, but they wanted to be there for the ceremony before walking the 30 minutes on to the Borisovskoye cemetery in the hope they would also have their chance to say goodbye.
Along the way they chanted: “Alexei” and “Navalny”, but also “No to war” and “Russia will be free”.
These last were chants of old, from the days – not so long ago but they seem like a lifetime – when there were rallies in Russia.
But not “We will not forgive”, “We thank the parents for their son” or “Navalny our hero!”.
Those were unique to this moment, to its pain and emotion.
No one wanted this rally to descend into police chaos. They were careful to preserve the solemnity of the occasion and, for their part, the police did the same.
“It is very difficult to stay wise and not be overwhelmed with anger,” said 70-year-old Tatyana.
“It is very sad because I think I won’t see the end of this tragedy with my country, my beloved country or the tragedy of this war.
“I came here to look at people and not to feel alone.”
When Navalny died, many people said to us they felt that hope had died with him.