Thousands Pay Last Respects to Gorbachev at Funeral Snubbed by Putin

Thousands of people lined up in Moscow Saturday to pay their final respects to the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, an architect of drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was notably absent, with the Kremlin saying the president's busy schedule prevented him from attending the funeral ceremony.

Mourners passed by Gorbachev's open casket flanked by h