New Russian emigration in Bulgaria pays tribute to Alexei Navalny

The one-year anniversary of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was marked with a memorial service in Sofia's St Nedelya Cathedral. It was organised by the movement "For a Free Russia" - an association of Russian immigrants in Bulgaria.

On 16 February 2024, Russian authorities announced that opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 47, had died in a remote Russian Arctic penal colony where he was serving a sentence.

"On this day we gather to honour his memory, to express our pain and to remind the world that we have not forgotten and will not forget," the organisers said.

The "For a Free Russia" movement also held a rally later in front of the Russian embassy in Sofia. Protests were also held in Burgas in front of the Monument to the Victims of Communism and in Varna at the central entrance to the Sea Garden.