The funeral of the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday, will take place on Saturday in Moscow, Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday, citing his daughter and his foundation.
Gorbachev will be buried “on Saturday at the Novodevichy Cemetery” after a farewell ceremony at the Moscow House of Trade Unions, where Stalin’s body was laid after his death, his daughter Irina Virganskaïa told the Interfax agency.
A state funeral? The decision is not yet made
It was not immediately clear whether the funeral would be private or national, as no Russian official had commented on the matter. When asked about this by Interfax, Gorbachev’s daughter did not answer.
The Gorbachev Foundation, for its part, specified that the funeral would take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Paris time.
“As for whether only the family will be present at the funeral or whether everyone will be able to attend, a decision has not yet been made,” the foundation said, quoted by Russian agencies.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said an announcement would be made on Wednesday about whether President Vladimir Putin would attend the funeral.
Gorbachev, who led the USSR from 1985 until its collapse in 1991, died on Tuesday night after a “long serious illness”, according to the Central Clinical Hospital (TSKB) in Moscow, where he was being treated.
Lithuanian Reviews
Many Western leaders have paid tribute to this reformer who worked to reduce tensions in the midst of the Cold War, tried to transform the Soviet Union to save it, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
In Russia, however, Gorbachev remains a controversial figure, as many Russians experienced the collapse of the USSR as humiliation and trauma. In Lithuania, where the independence campaign of January 1991 was violently repressed by Moscow, criticism was strong after his death.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas condemned Gorbachev: “He was a criminal who ordered a ruthless crackdown on peaceful protests in Vilnius, Tbilisi, Almaty, Baku and other cities. He had no regrets,” he posted on Facebook.
“Such is the memory we have of them, although we should never speak ill of the dead, but not this time,” he added.
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said for his part that “Lithuanians will not glorify Gorbachev.”
Source: BFM TV
