Putin Too Busy To Attend Mikhail Gorbachev’s Funeral

The Associated Press reports:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday paid tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev but will not attend the late former Soviet leader’s funeral, a decision reflecting the Kremlin’s ambivalence about Gorbachev’s legacy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that prior to departing for a working trip to Russia’s westernmost Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, Putin visited a Moscow hospital where Mikhail Gorbachev’s body is kept before Saturday’s funeral to lay flowers at his coffin.

“Regrettably, the president’s working schedule wouldn’t allow him to do that on Saturday, so he decided to do that today,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

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Putin’s schedule prevents him attending Gorbachev funeral – Kremlin https://t.co/coya2IBitZ pic.twitter.com/hhOutaqQkI

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 1, 2022