Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbed former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's funeral on Saturday, but thousands more came to pay tribute. The turnout was so large, in fact, that the viewing was extended for two more hours.
Thousands of mourners lined up Saturday to pay tribute to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a farewell snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The coffin of Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, was brought to Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery, where he will be buried next to his wife Raisa, following a farewell ceremony at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, an opulent 18th-century mansion near the Kremlin that has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.
The turnout was large enough that the viewing was extended for two more hours beyond the stated two hours. He then released a post on a messaging app channel, referring to the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and accusing the U.S. and its allies of trying to engineer Russia’s breakup, a policy he described as a “chess game with Death.”
“I want to thank him for my childhood of freedom, which we don’t have today,” said mourner Ilya, a financial services worker in his early 30s who declined to give his last name.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Thousands line up to say farewell to Gorbachev; Putin absentThousands of mourners lined up to pay tribute to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a farewell snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin
Les mer »
Thousands line up to say farewell to Gorbachev; Putin absentMOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of mourners lined up Saturday to pay tribute to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a farewell snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Les mer »
Thousands of Russians — but not Putin — line up to say goodbye to GorbachevThousands of people lined the streets of Moscow to pay their respects to Mikhail Gorbachev ahead of his funeral on Saturday — a farewell noticeably missed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Les mer »
Russians say farewell to USSR's last leader Mikhail Gorbachev in funeral snubbed by Putin | CNNRussians were saying farewell to the last leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday in a funeral that has been snubbed by President Vladimir Putin.
Les mer »
Russians say farewell to USSR's last leader Mikhail Gorbachev in funeral snubbed by PutinMikhail Gorbachev's funeral was snubbed by President Putin. The Soviet Union's last leader will be buried next to his wife Raisa later today.
Les mer »
Russians line up to bid farewell to former Soviet leader Mikhail GorbachevPeople lined up around the Kremlin on Saturday to pay their final respects to Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Les mer »