Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century, was laid to rest in a relatively low-key ceremony and without the presence of the current Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Gorbachev was in power from 1985 to 1991, and sought to reform and modernize the Soviet UnionImage: Sergei Bobylev/Tass/dpa/picture alliance
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Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, was laid to rest on Saturday in a relatively low-key ceremony in the Russian capital.
Thousands of mourners lined up to pay their final respects and to quietly file past his open casket as it was flanked by honor guards under the Russian flag in Moscow's historic Hall of Columns. The hall has traditionally been used for the funerals of high officials, including Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1953.
No world leaders were expected to attend the funeral amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and the resulting political isolation of Moscow.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his two potential successors Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are banned from entering Russia.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had not received an invitation, and his predecessor, Angela Merkel, has declined due to a knee injury.
But Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban traveled to Moscow for the funeral. The Kremlin, however, said there were no plans for a meeting between Orban and Putin. "As far as we know, he will only fly in to say goodbye to Gorbachev. There were no desires for meetings," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti.
Ambassadors from countries like France and the US were also present at the ceremony. Germany's ambassador, Géza Andreas von Geyr, has tested positive for COVID-19 and was represented by his deputy.
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'Elements' of state funeral
The Kremlin said the ceremony would only have "elements" of a state funeral such as an honor guard.
There will be no customary national day of mourning, as is typical for former Soviet and Russian leaders.
Gorbachev was buried at Moscow's prestigious Novodevichy Cemetery next to his wife Raisa, who died of cancer in 1999.
The ceremony was a much more low-key affair than that accorded to Boris Yeltsin, who became the first president of modern Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. When Yeltsin died in 2007, he was honored with a state funeral.
A special friendship: Gorbachev and the Germans
Mikhail Gorbachev was surely the most popular Russian in Germany. With his personable, open style, "Gorbi" won Germans' hearts even before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Image: Holger Hollemann/dpa/picture-alliance
"The fathers of German reunification"
Ever since reunification, Germans lovingly called Mikhail Gorbachev "Gorbi." The monument "Fathers of Unity" in front of the Springer publishing house in Berlin was unveiled on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of German reunification. Aside from Gorbachev it also honors US President George Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
Image: Bildagentur-online/Joko/picture alliance
The beginning of a special friendship
In March 1985, then-German Chancellor Helmut Kohl visited Moscow to attend the funeral of Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev soon took over the post. The meeting between Kohl and Gorbachev marked the beginning of the historic friendship between the two politicians that was to determine the fate of all of Europe.
Image: Tass/dpa/picture-alliance
The architect of Germany's "Ostpolitik"
After Gorbachev took over as leader of the Communist Party, former German Chancellor Willy Brandt visited Moscow. During his tenure from 1969 to 1974, the Social Democrat became the architect of a new Ostpolitik designed to normalize relations with the USSR, the GDR and other Eastern European neighbors. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts. Gorbachev won the prize in 1990.
Image: V. Musaelyan/AFP/Getty Images
German favorite
June 13, 1989: Gorbachev visited West Germany's then capital, Bonn. The Berlin Wall still stands, and an end to Germany's division is not in sight. Yet Germans already hailed the Soviet leader as a bringer of peace. Among Christian Democratic (CDU) voters, Gorbachev was much more popular than CDU Chancellor Helmut Kohl at the time.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kleefeldt
Figurehead for Leipzig
Gorbachev's "perestroika" (restructuring) and "glasnost" (openness) served as a template for Leipzig's Monday demonstrations. East Germany's ruling SED party felt his new teachings were so dangerous that the Stasi secret police withdrew from circulation Soviet magazines with articles on Gorbachev.
Image: picture-alliance/Lehtikuva/M. Ulander
Sweater summit
Working out the modalities of German unity: Outdoors and clad in thick sweaters, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev spun the wheel of history on July 15, 1990. Moscow was not going to stand in the way of a united Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Elder statesman and star
Two years later, Gorbachev was no longer Soviet leader, but he and his wife Raissa won people's hearts once again on a visit to Germany on March 6, 1992. Here, the popular couple lifted a stein at Munich's Hofbräuhaus.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Gorbi in Weimar
Thousands of Germans wrote letters to Gorbachev, and felt as if they were writing to a good friend. "[He] was alive compared to other Soviet officials who came across as stiff as mummies," wrote Michael from Lüneburg. On September 5, 1994, Gorbachev visited Goethe's residence in Weimar.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Pop star meets superstar
Both German rock legend Udo Lindenberg (left) and Gorbachev were no longer at the height of their careers as the 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall rolled around in 1999. Yet the Russian leader with the human touch was still immensely popular in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/Berliner_Zeitung
That's entertainment!
The USSR collapsed at the end of 1991 and marked the end of Gorbachev's presidency. As early as 1992, the Gorbachev Foundation began to investigate the history of perestroika. During this new period of his life, Gorbachev regularly traveled to Germany. In 1996, the Gorbachev couple were guests of Thomas Gottschalk on the legendary German television show "Wetten, dass ...."
Image: Holger Hollemann/dpa/picture-alliance
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Great political figure of the 20th century
Gorbachev, one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century, died Tuesday at the age of 91 after a "serious and long illness," said the hospital where he had been treated.
Gorbachev was in power from 1985 to 1991, and sought to reform and modernize the Soviet Union. But many in Russia blame him for triggering the demise of the union and damaging the country's position on the international stage. Putin has described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century.
