MoscowRussian President Vladimir Putin will not attend Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral on Friday, according to the Kremlin. “Unfortunately, Putin’s work schedule will not allow him to attend Gorbachev’s farewell ceremony on September 3,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral
He said that the Russian President visited the Central Clinical Hospital today to pay tribute to Gorbachev. A farewell ceremony for Gorbachev, which will be open to the public, is due on Saturday, followed by a funeral at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow on the same day.
Gorbachev died on Tuesday at 91 pm after a prolonged illness. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin, outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condoled Gorbachev’s death.
He died after a serious and prolonged illness, the Sputnik news agency quoted the hospital as saying. “Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev passed away this evening after a serious and prolonged illness,” the agency said on Tuesday, citing the Central Clinical Hospital.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the United Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He was a young and dynamic Soviet leader who wanted to reform the communist regime along the lines of democratic principles by giving some freedom to the citizens.
Glasnost or freedom of expression
In 1989, when pro-democracy protests in the Soviet Union in communist Eastern Europe intensified, Gorbachev refrained from using force. He recognized the policy of Glasnost, or freedom of speech, which had been severely curtailed during the earlier regime.
perestroika or reorganization
Gorbachev also initiated a program of economic reform called perestroika or restructuring which was necessary as the Soviet economy was suffering from both hidden inflation and a lack of supply. Cultural freedom was given to the press and the artistic community during his time.
He introduced radical reforms to reduce the party’s control over the government machinery. Thousands of political prisoners and their dissidents were released during his rule. He is recognized by the success of the nuclear disarmament agreement with the United States that won him the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to The New York Times, Gorbachev’s first five years in power were marked by significant achievements. He presided over an arms deal with the United States that eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons for the first time.
He began the withdrawal of most Soviet strategic nuclear weapons from Eastern Europe. According to US media outlets, he withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan, a tacit acknowledgment that the 1979 invasion and nine years of occupation had failed.