a discreet ceremony marked by the absence of Vladimir Putin

While Moscow is accustomed to lavish ceremonies, the last tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev, Saturday September 3, was discreet. Few Russians have traveled to a country where many, starting with Vladimir Putin, dispute his legacy. Others, conversely, salute the man of peace. “He tried to give us freedom, but we couldn’t keep it”laments a man, regretting the conflict in Ukraine. “He died when barbarism explodes”laments another Muscovite.

In the union house where his coffin was laid, his portrait sits enthroned and his family is in the front row. But what is most noticed are the absences. That of Vladimir Putin in the first place, who claimed an overloaded agenda. In a context of war in Ukraine, only Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made the trip. As a symbol, no national day of mourning has been decreed.