Thousands of Russians this Saturday (3) lined up in Moscow to bid farewell to the last leader of the Soviet Union, in front of the Trade Union Assembly, where Mikhail Gorbachev is being held. The head of state will be buried in Moscow without ceremonies or official mourning and in the presence of President Vladimir Putin, who claims it doesn’t fit with his schedule.
Organized by the Gorbachev Foundation, the funeral began in 1953 with a joint ceremony at the Assembly of Trade Unions, a symbolic place in the Russian capital where many communist leaders, including Josef Stalin, were veiled.
Passersby laid flowers and bowed as a sign of respect. Gorbachev’s daughter sat next to the coffin, in which a photo of the leader was placed.
After the ceremony, Gorbachev’s body will be taken to the Novodievichi Cemetery, where he will be buried with his wife, Raisa Gorbachev, who died in 1999.
Tensions and cautious visit
In the context of tensions between Moscow and the West due to the war in Ukraine, only the controversial Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, attended the ceremony in Moscow, accompanied by a delegation close to the Kremlin. According to the Russian presidency, no meetings with Putin are planned.
Despite not attending the funeral, Putin secretly visited the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital (TSKB), where the Soviet leader died, and laid a wreath of red roses next to the coffin.
In his message of condolence, the Russian President stated in a neutral tone that the Soviet leader “had a great influence on world history” and was “trying to propose his own solutions to the problems of the USSR”.
Image: Alexander Nemenov / AFP
Contrary to the Kremlin’s coldness, Western capitals from Washington to Berlin, through Paris and Rome, celebrated the memory of Gorbachev, known for his work to bring the United States and Russia closer and to reduce nuclear arsenals. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, Germany, which is likely to be reunited, announced on Saturday that its flags will be lowered at half-mast in mourning in the German capital.
indeterminate shape
Gorbachev died on Tuesday (30) at the age of 91. A historical figure of the 20th century and one of the main architects of the end of the Cold War, he promoted reforms aimed at improving the country’s economic and democratic conditions and led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Recognized by Western countries as a man of peace, Gorbachev is seen by many in Russia as responsible for the years of political and economic crisis that followed the fall of Moscow from power and the end of the Soviet Union.
source: Noticias
