Thousands Gather to Pay Respects to Gorbachev, but Putin Is Conspicuously Absent
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Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, was not accorded the honor of a grand state ceremony that characterized funerals of his Soviet predecessors
By Ivan Nechepurenko
Sept. 3, 2022
Updated 9:01 a.m. ET
Thousands of Russians from across the country were in central Moscow on Saturday to pay their final respects to Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, who was viewed by some as a great reformist but was reviled by others who blamed him for the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Inside the grand hall of Moscow’s famed House of the Unions — with its windows draped in black and its chandeliers dimmed as solemn classical music played — people walked by Mr. Gorbachev’s coffin placed beneath a Russian flag instead of the Soviet red banner.
Mr. Gorbachev, whose family members sat beside the coffin, died on Tuesday at age 91 after what the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow said was “a long and grave illness.”
It was clear soon after his death that the Kremlin would not accord Mr. Gorbachev the pomp of a grand state ceremony that characterized funerals of his Soviet predecessors. It was not broadcast live by state television, and there were no lines of sobbing people in gray coats, carrying red carnations.
And one person was conspicuously absent on Saturday: President Vladimir V. Putin.
Citing a busy schedule, Mr. Putin did not attend the memorial. Instead, he paid his last respects to Mr. Gorbachev on Thursday, taking a bouquet of flowers to his coffin at the hospital in Moscow.
Mr. Putin’s absence sent a clear message: While the Kremlin wanted to avoid any direct condemnation of a person who was once at its helm, it also wanted to distance itself from the symbol of an era whose legacy Mr. Putin is now largely trying to undo.
Also noticeably absent from Mr. Gorbachev’s funeral were foreign dignitaries — except for Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary — highlighting Russia’s isolation from the West amid its continuing war in Ukraine.
Many high-profile public Russian figures did attend the ceremony on Saturday, though, including Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former president; Sergei Stepashin, a former prime minister; and some popular culture figures, including Alla Pugacheva, a pop superstar.
Also in attendance were some who have been critical of Mr. Gorbachev’s legacy, including Dmitri Kiselyov, the host of the flagship weekly news show on Russian state television.
Despite trying to distance himself from Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Putin on Wednesday acknowledged the last Soviet leader’s legacy, calling him “a politician and statesman who had a huge impact on the course of world history.”
“He deeply understood that reforms were necessary,” Mr. Putin added. “He strove to offer his own solutions to urgent problems.”
The Kremlin said this week that there would be only “elements of a state funeral,” including an honor guard. By contrast, when Mr. Gorbachev’s successor, Boris N. Yeltsin, died in 2007, Mr. Putin, who succeeded him, declared a day of national mourning for his funeral. The ceremony was broadcast live on state television, and the lowering of Mr. Yeltsin’s coffin was accompanied by an artillery salute.
Mr. Yeltsin’s funeral was attended by numerous foreign dignitaries, including acting state leaders and former ones like Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.
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Flanked by white Corinthian columns, the grand hall of the House of the Unions has been the site of many high-profile ceremonies, including the funerals of Lenin, Stalin — whose funeral drew hundreds of thousands of people, creating a human crush that cost dozens of lives — and other Soviet leaders.
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