Thousands of Russians showed up to pay their last respects to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died at 91. Gorbachev’s Perestroika, meaning restructuring, and Glasnost, meaning transparency are largely believed to be responsible for the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union’s subsequent fall.
The Kremlin’s refusal to give Gorbachev a state funeral shows the government’s uneasiness with the man who’s venerated the world over for possibly ending the Cold War, but not so well-liked in Russia – especially among those whose loyalties lay with the Soviet Union.
President Vladimir Putin, who was a KGB agent when the Berlin Wall fell, paid his respects to Gorbachev in private but has snubbed the deceased leader’s funeral. Gorbachev is to be buried at Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery, next to his wife, Raisa.
His farewell was at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions and attended by daughter Irina, and Gorbachev’s two granddaughters.

People stand by the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. (Photo Credit: AP)
People lining up to pay the last respects at the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev outside the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions. (Photo Credit: AP)
Honour guards march by the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. (Photo Credit: AP)
The coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. (Photo Credit: AP)
Honour guards stand by the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev inside the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions. (Photo Credit: AP)
Honour guards march by the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. (Photo Credit: AP)
People stand by the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. (Photo Credit: AP)
Daughter of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Irina, centre, attends a farewell ceremony in Moscow, Russia. (Photo Credit: AP)