Mati Barnhart, knitted news01.09.22 19:49 Thursday in Elul Tishfav
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will not attend the funeral of the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday night.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that “Putin’s schedule will not allow him to take part in Gorbachev’s funeral on September 3.” Peskov added that Putin visited the hospital and placed flowers on Gorbachev’s grave.
Despite the Kremlin’s claims, the decision apparently comes as a result of the strained relationship between Gorbachev and Putin. As you may recall, Gorbachev previously implicitly criticized the invasion of Ukraine, saying on February 26 that “we must clarify the need to end hostilities and bring peace and start peace talks. There is nothing more important than human life.”
At the moment, it is still unclear whether Umm Gorbachev will receive a state funeral. Unlike the situation after the death of former president Boris Yeltsin, the Russian government did not formally announce plans to hold a state funeral when it issued an announcement of Gorbachev’s death. He will be buried next to his wife Risa, who died in 1999.
“There will be elements of a state funeral,” Paskov said today (Thursday). “There will be a guard of honor and a ceremony. The state will help organize the funeral.”
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