Two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot who spent nearly two years in prison for their irreverent protest in Moscow’s main cathedral say they still want to topple President Vladimir Putin.

Hundreds of mourners – some weeping, many clutching flowers – filed through a soaring, gold-domed Moscow cathedral today, past the open casket for Boris Yeltsin, paying tribute to a man who brought epochal changes to Russia but left behind a tarnished legacy.

Church leaders, politicians and believers across the country began celebrations of Russian Orthodox Christmas on the eve of the holiday Friday, with President Vladimir Putin sending greetings to the faithful.