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Vladimir Putin has sent official condolences to the family of Mikhail Gorbachev as the Kremlin broke its silence over the death of the last leader of the Soviet Union. But it has not said whether Gorbachev will receive a state funeral or be dealt a final snub by the successor who tore down his legacy.
It would be a pointed statement for a former Kremlin leader, even one as controversial in Russia as Gorbachev, not to receive one. The last to be snubbed was Nikita Khrushchev, who died in disfavour and was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery rather than interred in the Kremlin walls.
That is not how all Russians recalled Gorbachev on Wednesday, and prominent liberal voices sought to remind Russia that he had averted war and given older generations the promise of a freer future.
