Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is set to be buried Saturday in a ceremony falling short of a state funeral that will not be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin or top international leaders.
The relatively low-key funeral reflects the Kremlin's uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been revered in the West for ending the Cold War but despised by many at home for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.
Putin privately laid flowers at Gorbachev's coffin on Thursday because of what the Kremlin described as the president's busy schedule that would prevent him from attending the funeral.
Asked what specific business will keep Putin busy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that the president will have a series of working meetings, an international phone call and must also prepare for attending a business forum in Russia's Far East next week.
Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, will be buried at Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife, Raisa, following a farewell ceremony at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, an iconic mansion near the Kremlin that has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.