Lubyanka Square: Quiet Tension and Memorial Calm

On one side of Lubyanka Square, beneath the weathered facade of the former KGB building, Muscovites walk with quiet resolve as festive Christmas lights still drift through the air. Across the central square, at the foot of the monument to Soviet reprisals, a hush has fallen where crowds would usually gather; police buses, numerous agents, and pickup trucks line up in a tense formation. The mood feels somber as people approach to lay flowers for the recently deceased opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.