The funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, began in Moscow today, Saturday, after he died last Tuesday at the age of 91 after a long period of illness.
Hundreds of people gathered at the hall of the Council of Trade Unions near the Kremlin in the Russian capital, where Gorbachev’s body was laid.
Many in attendance carried flowers and waited to catch a last glimpse of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will not attend the farewell ceremony today, gave Gorbachev his last glimpse in hospital last Thursday, laying flowers on top of the coffin.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in the Russian capital, Moscow, on Saturday, to participate in Gorbachev’s funeral.
Orban thus becomes one of the few foreign politicians participating in the funeral, according to the Russian Interfax news agency.
Orban maintains good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Gorbachev will be buried next to his wife, Raisa, at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Unlike former Russian President Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007), no state funeral was planned for Gorbachev.
The internationally esteemed statesman is often credited with ending the Cold War peacefully.
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