For the pbs newshour, I'm Nick schifrin. Geoff: We will talk more about this with the English managing editor at a human rights organization that aims to end political persecution in Russia. He has also participated in navalny protests. As we saw thousands of people lined up to pay their respects at the funeral for alexei navalny despite a heavy police presence aimed at deterring protests against Vladimir Putin, what should we take of this stunning display of defiance? >> The important thing to
know is that despite the horrific risk of showing up on the streets, you could be beaten or imprisoned for many years, Russians throughout Russia are still willing to show up because they despise the war and they despise what the authoritarian Kremlin regime has done to alexei navalny. They have been showing up and protesting. Some covertly and some overtly for many years and they continued protesting after the invasion. Geoff: Officials kept alexei navalny's body for more than a week before rel
easing it to his mother and she accused them of trying to pressure her into agreeing to a secret funeral. Why do you think they caved? >> That is right. Kremlin officials wanted to put his family through a world of hurt. They started doing this for a while now. It did not start with the murdering alexei navalny. They destroyed her business -- they destroyed alexei navalny's mother's business. I think the reason they caved in was a massive public campaign demanding the release of the body. In fac
t, [indiscernible] Our platform gathered over 100,000 submissions demanding the body be released. Geoff: Isn't the Kremlin impervious to outside pressure or at least they are thought to be? >> Not exactly. It is quite clear that the Kremlin is still concerned about public attention on Russia and that is why it is important that western viewers and western media, that you keep your eyes peeled on what is going on in Russia and at the Kremlin and especially what is going on with political prisoner
s of home there is over 1000 in Russia right now. It is important to keep attention on them. Geoff: Alexei navalny was buried to the soundtrack of his favorite movie, terminator two what is the significance? >> His symbolic significance and the meaning of his campaign in Russia, he wanted to give hope to ordinary Russians. I think the terminator theme, this final shot of Arnold schwarzenegger going down with the thumbs up, I think this sums up what alexei navalny would've wanted for the people o
f Russia to know. That he is trying to give them hope even beyond the grave. I'm sure that alexei navalny would want Russians not to despair but to remain hopeful. He believed in a Russia that is not just free but in a russia that is happy and beautiful. Geoff: With his sudden death, the Russian opposition has lost its figure. What does it do now? >> The thing about Russian opposition is that it does not concentrate just on alexei navalny's figure. Of course he was a larger-than-life symbol. Cer
tainly other symbols and figures of Russian opposition -- what is important is that we keep our eyes on the grassroots elements of Russian civil society. It is quite clear that Russian opposition and civil society are not mourning, they are organizing. They are taking all the power they have and trying to carry on alexei navalny's banner. The important thing right now is to support them. Especially for those of you in the west wondering, how can I help Russian resistance -- how you can help is b
y pressuring your representatives and your politicians into providing shelter and platform to Russian dissidents and Russian civil society representatives that have to flee. So any sort of conversation that western leaders have with Russian leaders, that the fate of Russian political prisoners is front and center. Geoff: Dan is with ovd info. >> Thank you for having me. ♪♪
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