Mikhail Gorbachev: Thousands pay respects to last Soviet leader

Thousands of people in Russia have paid their final respects to Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader who brought the Cold War to a peaceful end.

Many queued for hours to file past his coffin in a historic hall where previous Soviet leaders lay in state.

But the man who oversaw the breakup of the USSR was not given a state funeral.

President Vladimir Putin, who has called the end of the union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century", did not attend.

The Kremlin's official explanation: No space in his schedule.

As people made their way inside the Columned Hall of the House of Unions, sombre music played - a huge black and white portrait of Mr Gorbachev hanging from the balcony.

The former president lay in an open coffin, flanked by a guard of honour.

His daughter and other family members sat there as people laid flowers. Soon, there was a sea of red carnations.

It was here that Mr Gorbachev's predecessors, Soviet leaders like Lenin, Stalin and Brezhnev, lay in state, too.

Many Russians blame Mikhail Gorbachev for launching reforms that caused economic chaos and for letting the Soviet Union fall apart.

But in the streets around the Hall of Unions, long lines of Muscovites - young and old - queued up to pay their respects.

"Gorbachev gave us hope, helped us dream of liberty," Stanislav tells the BBC. "I hope our society is not saying goodbye to liberty."

"This is a farewell to the person who has done his utmost to save the country from authoritarianism, from backwardness," says Olga, a pensioner and long-time Gorbachev fan.

Veteran liberal politician Grigory Yavlinsky was among them, saying: "These people came to Gorbachev to say 'Thank you Mr Gorbachev. You gave us a chance, but we lost this chance'."

As the former leader's coffin was carried into the Novodevichy Cemetery, heading the funeral procession was his close friend and Nobel peace prize laureate Dmitry Muratov. The journalist held up a portrait of the late Soviet leader.

Lining the path to the grave were an assortment of wreaths - from Mr Gorbachev's family, his comrades, government departments and foreign embassies.

When the coffin was lowered into the grave, a military band played the Russian national anthem and a gun salute rang out in his honour.

He was buried next to his wife Raisa, who died in 1999.

Mr Gorbachev died on Tuesday, aged 91.

He took power in 1985, introducing bold reforms and opening the USSR to the world.

But he was unable to prevent the collapse of the union in 1991, and many Russians blame him for the years of turmoil that ensued.

Outside Russia, he was widely respected, with the UN Secretary General António Guterres saying he had "changed the course of history", and US President Joe Biden calling him a "rare leader".

Among those filing past the coffin on Saturday, was Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban - a close ally of Mr Putin's. No other foreign leaders were known to have attended.

Another Putin ally - his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev - showed up, later to berate the West for seeking to break up Russia.

Others included the ambassadors of the US, UK and Germany.

In fact, so many Russians were keen to pay their respects that the ceremony had to be extended.

But the fact that this was not a state funeral is a sign that the current Kremlin leadership has little interest in honouring Mr Gorbachev's legacy.

It was well known that Mr Putin and Mr Gorbachev had a strained relationship - their last meeting was reportedly in 2006.

Most recently, Mr Gorbachev was said to have been unhappy with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, even though he had supported the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014.

He is seen in the West as an architect of reform who created the conditions for the end of the Cold War in 1991 - a time of deep tensions between the Soviet Union and Western nations, including the US and Britain.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 "for the leading role he played in the radical changes in East-West relations".

But in the new Russia that emerged after 1991, he was on the fringes of politics, focusing on educational and humanitarian projects.

Gorbachev made one ill-fated attempt to return to political life in 1996, receiving just 0.5% of the vote in presidential elections.