Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will be buried next Saturday in the Russian capital, Moscow. It is not yet clear whether a state funeral will be held.
The funeral service will be the “Guild House” near the Kremlin. This is what Irina, Gorbachev’s daughter, told Russian news agencies. The Council of Trade Unions has traditionally been the place of funerals for leaders of the former Soviet Union. The bodies of Soviet founder Lenin and his successor Stalin, among others, were laid there, so that people could say goodbye to them.
After the funeral ceremony, Gorbachev was given his final resting place at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. There Nikita Khrushchev, Boris Yeltsin and others are buried. Gorbachev will be there with his wife, Raisa, who died in 1999.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a decision would be made soon on whether it would be a state funeral. Because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and flights largely suspended, it is unclear if international guests can travel to Moscow for a state funeral. There is also no confirmation yet that President Vladimir Putin will attend the funeral.
