The Kremlin refused to hold a state funeral – a reflection of its concern for the legacy of a man whose reforms hastened the breakup of the Soviet Union – and President Vladimir Putin snubbed the event. While Mr Gorbachev was celebrated around the world for bringing down the Iron Curtain, he was blamed by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the subsequent economic collapse that plunged millions into poverty. Much-loved rock star regarded by Moscow as a “foreign agent” – latterly Ukraine Foreign leaders are not believed to have been invited, but one – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban – was present for the service. Other officials who paid their respects to the former Soviet leader included British and American ambassadors as well as diplomats from other nations. On Thursday, President Putin laid private flowers on Mr Gorbachev’s coffin at the Moscow hospital where he died after a long illness.
More about Mikhail Gorbachev
The Kremlin says the president’s busy schedule would prevent him from attending the funeral. Mr Gorbachev is laid to rest at Moscow’s Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife, Raisa, after a farewell ceremony in the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, a mansion near the Kremlin that has served as a venue for state funerals since Soviet times Union. At the farewell event, hundreds of mourners filed past Mr Gorbachev’s open casket flanked by honor guards, laying flowers as official music played. His daughter Irina and his two granddaughters sat next to the coffin. Despite the choice of the famous venue, the Kremlin stopped short of calling it a state funeral, with its spokesman saying it would have “elements” of one, such as honor guards, and government help in organizing it. Announcing a state funeral for Mr. Gorbachev would oblige President Putin to attend and require Moscow to invite foreign leaders, something it has apparently been reluctant to do amid heightened tensions with the West after sending troops to Ukraine. In the months before he died, Mr Gorbachev was “shocked and bewildered” by Russia’s war with Ukraine, his translator said. The conflict – which has lasted more than six months – has seen tens of thousands of deaths and a huge economic impact. In recent days, Russia has withdrawn plans to reopen a major pipeline that sends natural gas to Europe. Meanwhile, safety fears persist at Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, whose physical integrity has been “compromised”. In the south, Ukrainian forces focused on several operations near the occupied city of Kherson – amid suspicions of a long-awaited counter-offensive.
