More than 300 detained in Russia for paying respects to Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny

More than 300 people were detained in Russia while paying tribute to the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a prominent rights group reported on Sunday.

The sudden death of the 47-year-old at a remote Arctic penal colony was a crushing blow to many Russians, who had pinned their hopes for the future on President Vladimir Putin's fiercest foe. 

Navalny remained vocal in his unrelenting criticism of the Kremlin even after surviving a nerve agent poisoning and receiving multiple prison terms.

The news of his death reverberated across the globe, with many world leaders blaming Putin and his inner circle, whom Navalny had routinely criticised for their corruption and opulence. 

 In an exchange with reporters shortly after leaving a Saturday church service, US President Joe Biden reiterated his stance that Putin was ultimately to blame for Navalny’s death.

“The fact of the matter is, 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.”

Other politicians took a more cautious stance. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Sunday that he wouldn’t “jump to conclusions” over Navalny's death.

Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, published a picture of the couple on Instagram Sunday in her first social media post since her husband’s death. The caption read simply: “I love you.”

Hundreds of people in dozens of Russian cities streamed to ad-hoc memorials and monuments to victims of political repression with flowers and candles on Friday and Saturday to pay tribute to the politician. 

In 39 cities, police detained 366 people by Sunday evening, according to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests and provides legal