How did Navalny die? No clear answers as 400 arrested for paying tribute: Live updates

Over 400 Russian supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died last week in an Arctic prison, have been arrested for paying tributes as modest as laying flowers at the impromptu memorials that have sprung up across the country, a Russian rights group reported Sunday.

OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests and provides legal services, said more than 200 arrests took place in St. Petersburg alone. Moscow was among dozens of other cities where Navalny supporters were taken into custody, some already sentenced to almost a week in jail. The Russian government, which announced Navalny's death Friday, says the cause of his death remains under investigation.

Navalny, 47, was an unrelenting critic of President Vladimir Putin, even after surviving a nerve agent poisoning and receiving multiple prison terms. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, published an Instagram post Sunday of Navalny kissing her with the caption “I love you.”

President Joe Biden, responding to reporters Saturday night, again blamed Putin for Navalny's death.

“Putin is responsible. Whether he ordered it, he’s responsible for the circumstance,” Biden said. “It’s a reflection of who he is. It cannot be tolerated."

Young Russians mourn Navalny's death: Many suspicious of Putin involvement

Developments:

∎ OVD-Info said more than 12,000 Russians have sent appeals to the Investigative Committee demanding the release of Navalny’s body to his relatives.

∎ Grigory Mikhnov-Voitenko, a priest of the Apostolic Orthodox Church, was arrested Saturday after announcing plans to hold a memorial service for Navalny. He was charged with organizing a rally and taken into custody but was later hospitalized with a stroke, OVD-Info reported.

Other foes: Putin's critics faced prison, poisoning or death. Navalny may be only the latest one

Russian officials waffle on cause of death

Prison officials told Navalny's mother on Saturday that he suffered "sudden death syndrome" and that his body would soon be handed over to the family, Ivan Zhdanov, director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation said on social media. Later, Navalny's lawyers were told that the cause of death was not established and the body would not be returned to the family until the investigation was concluded.

"It is obvious that they are lying and doing everything not to give up the body," Zhdanov said.

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov dismissed the Western outcry as another attempt to undermine Russia. He said no judgments should be made until the investigation is completed.

"However, (U.S.) politicians do not want to wait and have already blamed the Russian authorities," Antonov said. "Here is another attempt to interfere in the internal policy of the Russian Federation. And death is just an excuse."

Russia a state sponsor of terrorism? 'Let’s make them pay a price'

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-South Carolina, on Sunday called for designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing Navalny's death last week.

“Navalny was one of the bravest people I ever met. When he went back to Russia he had to know he was going to be killed by Putin, and he was murdered by Putin,” Graham told CBS' "Face the Nation," referencing Navalny's return to Russia in 2021 after surviving a nerve-agent attack.

“Why don’t we do this. I just got off the phone with two Democratic senators. Let’s make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law. Let’s make them pay a price for killing Navalny," Graham added, saying he expects legislation on the move as soon as this week.

– Marina Pitofsky

US ambassador to Russia pays respects to Navalny

U.S. ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy paid her respects to Navalny in Moscow, laying flowers at a memorial at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to political repression.

"We mourn the death of Alexei Navalny and other victims of political repression in Russia," Tracy said. "We express our deepest condolences to the family, colleagues and supporters of Alexei Navalny. His strength is an inspiring example. We honor his memory."

Nigel Casey, the British ambassador to Russia, said his nation's Foreign Office had summoned a representative of the Russian embassy.

"We make it clear that we hold the Russian authorities fully responsible for Alexei's death," he said.

Opponent says Putin believes he is 'untouchable'

Putin killed Navalny in an effort to ensure the president's iron grip on Russia won't be weakened, the wife of jailed opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza told the BBC. “All that impunity that lasted for decades has led (Putin) to believe he’s somehow untouchable," Evgenia Kara-Murza said.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, the special representative on political prisoners with the Organization for Security and Cooperation, wrote Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken seeking to have journalist and opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Mura designated as “wrongfully detained.” The designation would prompt offices throughout the State Department and other U.S. government agencies to work collaboratively to try and secure their release.

Russian exile calls Putin 'pathologically evil'

Igor Eidman, a Berlin-based analyst and Russian exile, told USA TODAY that Navalny was Putin's top domestic enemy, a symbol of hope for change and for democracy.

"Poisoned, imprisoned, rolled into the Arctic Circle, rotted in a punishment cell. But it wasn’t enough," Eidman said. "Still, (Putin) killed, thus he once again showed himself to be a pathologically evil and vindictive paranoid."

Eidman also warned that Putin will seek revenge on Ukraine for the rest of his life.

"The West should admit that in the person of Putin, it is dealing with a maniac with a nuclear missile in his hands, who must be neutralized in order to prevent a global catastrophe," Eidman said.

− Kim Hjelmgaard

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Navalny's death live updates: 400 Russians arrested for protesting