Dozens arrested in Russia as Alexei Navalny laid to rest amid heavy police presence

March 1 (UPI) -- Alexei Navalny's family and friends laid the late Russian opposition leader to rest on Friday in a funeral that drew thousands of supporters even as they faced arrest by Russian authorities.

Dozens of people were detained throughout Russia on Friday in connection to Navalny's burial.

The short funeral service was livestreamed on Navally's YouTube channel as the hearse carrying his body arrived at the Borisovskoye cemetery shortly after his family held a funeral service at Moscow's Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrow, where his body was displayed in an open casket.

Several foreign diplomats -- including U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff and French Ambassador Pierre Levy -- were seen at the funeral as throngs of visitors waited quietly on wet sidewalks and streets and under observation by Russian security personnel.

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was seen placing red and while flowers -- colors of the Russian flag -- on top of his casket as Frank Sinatra's "My Way" played on in the background as he was laid to rest.

More than 400 were detained by Russian authorities in the weekend following Navalny's February 16 death, which occurred under suspect circumstances.

The Anti-Corruption Foundation said that thousands of supporters showed up outside the church, with supporters heard shouting "Navalny! Navalny!" as the hearse arrived. Others chanted "Russia will be free!" and "Thank you, Alexei!"

A heavy police presence was deployed throughout the city, including masked guards near a fence on the perimeter of the church.

A human rights group counter indicates that so far 67 people in 16 locations across Russia including in Moscow, Ekaterinburg and Novosibirsk have been arrested with those numbers expected to grow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday declined to comment directly on Navalny in a call with reporters.

"The Kremlin doesn't have anything to say to Navalny's family on the day of his funeral," he said.

He did, however, stress that unsanctioned gatherings are against the law and "those who participate in them will be held accountable."

Funeral almost did not happen

Navalny, 47, was one of Putin's most fierce and effective critics with his ability to inspire young Russians against the Kremlin. Navalny was serving prison time at a penal colony above the Arctic Circle when he died.

Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya -- who, along with the couple's two children, was not seen at her husband's funeral -- has accused Putin of killing her husband in an act that Putin and Kremlin officials have denied.

The start of the funeral was marred by delays as Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said his body was not immediately turned over when relatives arrived at the morgue at 10 a.m., local time. Yarmysh warned that the funeral may be delayed, but the pause did not change their schedule.

About a half an hour later, she said the body was finally released. "Alexei's body is being handed over to his relatives, and the hearse with it will soon head to the temple," Yarmysh said on X.

Navalny's supporters had complained that the Kremlin tried to disrupt the event as his allies said they struggled to even find a hearse driver willing to transport Navalny's body to the grave site.

Zhdanov had said the family wanted Navalny to be buried on Thursday but were denied because authorities feared it would take attention away from President Vladimir Putin's State of Nation address.