Putin pays last respects to Gorbachev

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin attended on Thursday a farewell ceremony for last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died on Tuesday at the age of 91.

Putin brought a bouquet of roses to the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital, where the ceremony took place in honor of Gorbachev with a minute of silence.

Gorbachev will be buried later in the day at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

The former Communist Party secretary general brought economic and political reforms to the Russian society, which critics say led to the dissolution of Soviet Union.

Leaders from around the world expressed their condolences over his death.