Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin cited engagements in Kaliningrad to skip the funeral for the Soviet Union's last leader, but thousands of Russians gathered outside the Column Hall of the House of Unions in Moscow on Saturday to pay homage to Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the man who gave them freedom from six decades of fear and terror imposed by the tyranny of the Communist party.
Glimpses from Gorbachev's funeral.
IMAGE: Honour guards stand by Gorbachev's coffin during the memorial service at the Column Hall of the House of Unions in Moscow. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: People queue to enter the Column Hall of the House of Unions to pay homage to Gorbachev. Photograph: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
IMAGE: A portrait of Mikhail Gorbachev hangs on the wall during the memorial service at the House of Unions in Moscow. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
IMAGE: Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev -- now deputy chairman of Russia's security council -- pays his respects to Gorbachev. Photograph: Sputnik/Ekaterina Shtukina/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban was the only foreign leader at the memorial service.
Russia's war in Ukraine made it difficult for current and past foreign heads of State and government to travel to Moscow to salute the man who made the end of the Cold War possible. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool via Reuters
Russia's war in Ukraine made it difficult for current and past foreign heads of State and government to travel to Moscow to salute the man who made the end of the Cold War possible. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Russia, at the memorial service. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: Russian singer Alla Pugacheva walks outside the Column Hall of the House of Unions after paying tribute to Gorbachev. Photograph: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
IMAGE: Russian Opposition politician Grigory Yavlinsky at the memorial service. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
IMAGE: A young man holds William Taubman's epic biography Gorbachev: His Life and Times outside the House of Unions. Photograph: Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters
IMAGE: Pallbearers carry the coffin out of the House of Unions after the memorial service. Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters
IMAGE: An Orthodox priest leads the service during the funeral at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: Irina Virganskaya, Gorbachev's daughter, left, her husband Andrey Trukhachev, centre, and their daughter Anastasia Virganskaya at the funeral. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
