Vladimir WON’T attend Soviet leader’s funeral on Saturday because he is ‘too busy’ 

Putin’s final snub for Gorbachev: Vladimir WON’T attend Soviet leader’s funeral on Saturday because he is ‘too busy’

  • His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he could not come due to work schedule 
  • Comes after Putin was filmed laying a bouquet of red roses near his casket 
  • There was huge outpouring of grief for Gorbachev in west but not in Russia
  • Gorbachev was respected in west for triggering the demise of the Soviet Union 

Vladimir Putin will not attend Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral on Saturday because he is ‘too busy’ – one final snub for the former Soviet leader who has also been denied a state funeral.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘The farewell ceremony and funeral will take place on September 3 but unfortunately the president’s work schedule will not allow him (to attend).’

It comes after Putin was shown on Russian state television laying a bouquet of red roses near Gorbachev’s open casket at the hospital where he died on Tuesday at the age of 91.

He paused for a moment of silence, bowed his head and briefly laid his hand on the casket and then made a sign of the cross. 

Despite a huge outpouring of tributes from the West after Gorbachev’s death, reaction was much more muted in Russia, as many scorned him after he triggered the demise of the Soviet Union.

Although the dismantling of the Soviet Union meant freedom for countries such as Ukraine, it left Russia in economic chaos and saw its international influence decline.  

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that his work schedule means that he is unable to attend the funeral. Pictured: Putin bows his head as he pays his respects to last Soviet leader Gorbachev, at his open casket

Despite a huge outpouring of tributes from the West after Gorbachev's death, reaction was much more muted in Russia, as many scorned him after he triggered the demise of the Soviet Union. Pictured: Putin and Gorbachev

Despite a huge outpouring of tributes from the West after Gorbachev’s death, reaction was much more muted in Russia, as many scorned him after he triggered the demise of the Soviet Union. Pictured: Putin and Gorbachev 

Pictured: Putin looks solemn as he stands at the open casket of Gorbachev in footage shown on Russian state television

Pictured: Putin looks solemn as he stands at the open casket of Gorbachev in footage shown on Russian state television

Elsewhere, the Kremlin published a letter of condolences, with Putin describing Gorbachev as a ‘politician and statesman who had a huge impact on the course of world history.’

Putin added: ‘He led our country during a period of complex, dramatic changes, large-scale foreign policy, economic and social challenges.’

Gorbachev’s funeral ceremony will be on Saturday at the Moscow Hall of Columns.

It is historically used for funeral services of high officials, including Joseph Stalin in 1953.

Gorbachev will then be buried at the Novedevichy cemetery in Moscow next to his wife Raisa, who died in 1999. 

Pictured: Putin looks at a photograph of Gorbachev, Russia's last Soviet leader, who died aged 91 on Tuesday

Pictured: Putin looks at a photograph of Gorbachev, Russia’s last Soviet leader, who died aged 91 on Tuesday

Despite Gorbachev triggering the end of the Soviet Union, Putin has spent much of the last 20 years reversing his legacy. Pictured: Putin places a hand on Gorbachev's open casket

Despite Gorbachev triggering the end of the Soviet Union, Putin has spent much of the last 20 years reversing his legacy. Pictured: Putin places a hand on Gorbachev’s open casket

Gorbachev's funeral ceremony will be on Saturday at the Moscow Hall of Columns. He will then be buried at the Novedevichy cemetery in Moscow next to his wife Raisa. Pictured: Gorbachev and Raisa in 1992

Gorbachev’s funeral ceremony will be on Saturday at the Moscow Hall of Columns. He will then be buried at the Novedevichy cemetery in Moscow next to his wife Raisa. Pictured: Gorbachev and Raisa in 1992 

The Kremlin spokesman said that Gorbachev’s service will have some ‘elements of a state funeral’, including a guard of honour, and that the ceremony will be organised with the state’s help. 

Putin has spent a large part of his 20 years as president reversing parts of Gorbachev’s legacy, calling the Soviet collapse the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. 

This includes cracking down on independent media and political opposition, something that critics say has undone Gorbachev’s efforts to bring ‘glasnost’, or openness, to the political system.   

Also, Putin has sought to reassert Russia’s influence in Ukraine through a full-scale war, one of the countries that won its independence when the Soviet Union fell apart.  

Pictured: Putin also made a sign of the cross after paying his respects to Gorbachev in Russia

Pictured: Putin also made a sign of the cross after paying his respects to Gorbachev in Russia

Putin has spent a large part of his 20 years as president reversing parts of Gorbachev's legacy, calling the Soviet collapse the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. This includes launching a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, one of the countries which had won its independence when the Soviet Union fell apart. Pictured: Gorbachev and Putin

Putin has spent a large part of his 20 years as president reversing parts of Gorbachev’s legacy, calling the Soviet collapse the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. This includes launching a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, one of the countries which had won its independence when the Soviet Union fell apart. Pictured: Gorbachev and Putin

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