Putin pays tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev but will not attend his funeral

Mr Putin’s decision to pay a private visit to the hospital while staying away from Saturday’s public ceremony, combined with uncertainty surrounding the funeral’s status, reflect the Kremlin’s dichotomy about the legacy of Mr Gorbachev

Russian President Vladimir Putin pays his last respects near the coffin of former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow Russia (Russian pool via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has privately laid flowers at Mikhail Gorbachev’s coffin, snubbing the weekend’s public funeral in a move reflecting the Kremlin’s uneasiness about Mr Gorbachev’s legacy.

Just before departing for a working trip to Russia’s western-most Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, Mr Putin visited a Moscow hospital where Mr Gorbachev’s body was being kept before Saturday’s funeral.