MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd September, 2022) The public farewell ceremony for the late Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, which was attended by multiple high-ranking Russian and foreign officials, diplomats and ordinary Russians, took place in Moscow.
The four-hour ceremony was held in the Hall of Columns of the House of the Unions, a spacious historical venue that saw the state funerals of Lenin and Stalin.
Ahead of the farewell, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev paid his last respects to the former leader, with other prominent state officials and lawmakers joining the ceremony after its start at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT).
The only foreign head of state who came to Moscow to bid his farewell was Hungarian President Viktor Orban. Later, he said on social media that Gorbachev was one of those who helped Central Europe "escape communism peacefully, without losing lives and shedding blood."
Multiple ambassadors also came to the House of the Unions in mourning of Gorbachev's passing, including US Ambassador John Sullivan, UK Ambassador Deborah Bronnert and Japanese Ambassador Toyohisa Kozuki, among others.
Suzanne Massie, Reagan's adviser who contributed to building trust between Moscow and Washington at the end of the Cold War, attended the farewell ceremony as well.
Some prominent journalists, including Nobel Peace prize winner Dmitry Muratov and Vladimir Pozner, were spotted among the mourners.
Hundreds of Russian citizens also came to pay their last respects to Gorbachev on Saturday morning, with some breaking into tears.
Gorbachev died on Tuesday at the age of 91 in Moscow after a long and serious illness, according to the Central Clinical Hospital. He was laid to rest later on Saturday at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow near his wife.
