Putin Declines to Attend Gorbachev's Funeral... "Will Visit Hospital to Pay Respects in Advance"

"Unable to Attend Due to External Schedule"
Negative Evaluation Casts Doubt on Director Appointment

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Kremlin has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president who recently passed away. The Kremlin explained that President Putin was unable to attend the funeral due to external commitments but visited the hospital where the body was first laid to pay his respects. It is also reported that it is uncertain whether Gorbachev’s funeral will be held as a state funeral.

According to TASS news agency on the 1st (local time), President Putin personally visited the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, where Gorbachev’s body was temporarily laid, to pay his respects. However, he indicated that he would be unable to attend the funeral scheduled for the 3rd due to other external commitments.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, stated, "The funeral is scheduled to take place on the 3rd, but unfortunately, President Putin will not be able to attend due to work commitments," adding, "However, President Putin visited the hospital where former President Gorbachev passed away in advance to pay his final respects."

When asked by reporters whether Gorbachev’s funeral would be held as a state funeral, Peskov refrained from commenting. He said, "We need to clarify exactly what constitutes a state funeral," and added, "It is difficult to answer this precisely right now, so I will not comment."

In 2007, when Boris Yeltsin, considered a political rival of Gorbachev, passed away, his funeral was held as a state funeral. Putin, who was appointed as the head of the FSB (Federal Security Service), the successor to the Soviet KGB (Committee for State Security), during the Yeltsin administration, also declared a national day of mourning.

The Kremlin’s reluctance to clearly state whether Gorbachev’s funeral will be held as a state funeral is presumed to be linked to the negative evaluations of him within Russia. While Gorbachev is regarded as a great leader in the free world for promoting the policies of Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness), fostering reconciliation with the West, and leading to the end of the Cold War, some in Russia criticize him harshly as the person responsible for the dissolution of the Soviet Union due to pushing too radical reforms and even label him a "traitor."

Meanwhile, Gorbachev’s family has announced that the funeral will be held on the 3rd at the "House of Unions" in Moscow. This location is also where former Soviet Secretary Joseph Stalin is interred.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.