Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader, the Kremlin has confirmed. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Putin’s work schedule would not permit him to attend the event on Saturday. He said the Russian leader had paid his respects at the Moscow hospital where Gorbachev died on Tuesday, aged 91. Gorbachev’s reforms helped end the Cold War, but saw the demi se of the Soviet Union, which Mr Putin has lamented. Warning: some readers may find the video below distressing. In 2005, the Russian president said the break-up of the USSR was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] Century”.(BBC)…[+]