Funeral ceremony for charity activist Dr. Liza underway at Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. The funeral ceremony for Elizaveta Glinka, human rights activist and the head of the Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (or Fair Aid) charity fund, is underway at the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow’s Novodevichy Convent. Glinka, better known as Dr. Liza, died in an airplane crash over the Black Sea on December 25, 2016, as she was flying to Syria while accompanying humanitarian aid for the warn-torn Middle Eastern country’s hospitals.

Several dozen people are taking part in the ceremony, including Head of the Presidential Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov. Glinka’s awards have been laid beside her casket along with wreaths on behalf of the Russian president, the minister of defense, the Human Rights Council and her family members.

"We should carry on with her work because it is very important. We should feed the homeless, provide help for terminally-ill people, we should save and treat the children of Donbass. The charity fund established by Dr. Liza should continue to operate," the Human Rights Council head stressed.

After the final farewell ceremony, a burial service will be conducted at the Dormition Cathedral. Only family members and close friends will privately pay their last respects to her.

The Tu-154 crash occurred on December 25, 2016. The aircraft, en route to Syria, crashed shortly after taking off from the Black Sea resort of Sochi. There were 92 people on board the aircraft, including eight crew members and 84 passengers that lost their lives in the plane disaster. Apart from Elizaveta Glinka, the plane was also carrying nearly three dozen members of the world-renowned Alexandrov Ensemble, an official army choir of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as nine Russian reporters.