Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic inside Russia, died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16., sparking accusations from his supporters that he had been murdered. The Kremlin has denied any state involvement in his death.
The authorities have outlawed his movement as extremist and cast his supporters as U.S.-backed troublemakers out to foment revolution. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had nothing to say to Navalny's family.
"There are more than 10,000 people here, and no one is afraid," said a young woman, Kamila, in the crowd. "We came here in order to honour the memory of a man who also wasn't afraid, who wasn't afraid of anything."
Kirill, 25, said: "It's very sad for the future of Russia... We won't give up, we will believe in something better."
Public demonstrations in Russia are risky and rare, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine that the Kremlin calls a "special military operation". More than 20,000 people have been detained in the past two years.