Vladimir Putin snubs Mikhail Gorbachev's funeral

People stand by the coffin of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during a farewell ceremony in Moscow, Russia, on September 3, 2022. [AP photo]

Russians who came for a last look at former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Saturday mourned both the man and his policies that gave them hope. President Vladimir Putin claimed to be too busy to attend.

Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at age 91, launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War. But he also precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, which Putin had called the 20th century's "greatest geopolitical catastrophe."