The memorial to the Russian opposition leader was unveiled last week at a spot in a Helsinki park where it is visible from the windows of the nearby Russian embassy.
An attempt appears to have been made to set a memorial bench in honour of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on fire.
The bench is located in Helsinki’s Neitsytpuisto Park, close to the Russian Embassy on Tehtaankatu.
It was unveiled just last week by the Initiative for Resistance and Dialogue (FoReDi), a group of Russian activists in Finland who oppose President Vladimir Putin‘s policies.
At the suggestion of City of Helsinki authorities, the bench was placed in a location that makes it visible from the windows of the Russian Embassy.
The apparent arson attempt was not reported to authorities, as a spokesperson for the Helsinki police department told Yle on Friday afternoon that no crime report has been filed that would match the description of any such incident. In addition, the capital’s emergency services also confirmed they were not notified of any such matter.
Anna-Sofia Karhu, a spokesperson for FoReDi, told Yle that the organisation anticipated the bench might be the target of acts of vandalism.
“Fortunately, the damage is fairly easy to repair,” she said, adding that the organisation intends to file a report with Helsinki police about the incident, as well as asking the city for any CCTV footage from the area.
Navalny was Putin’s most prominent, vocal opponent before he died in February 2024 at a penal colony in northwestern Siberia.
According to Western experts, Navalny was killed using a poison developed from a dart frog toxin. Western governments hold the Russian government responsible for his death.
