On 30 August 2022, Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and final leader and president of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, died after a long illness at the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital in Russia.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did announce that Gorbachev would be given "elements of a state funeral", such as a guard of honor and partial government organization.

[9] This large public viewing attendance came in spite of reports that many Russians blame Gorbachev for launching reforms that caused economic chaos and for letting the Soviet Union fall apart.

[8] Despite having elements similar to a state funeral, including the national flag draping Gorbachev's coffin while being accompanied with goose-stepping guards firing shots in the air and a small band playing the Russian anthem, it was alleged that Putin avoided giving Gorbachev an official state funeral so he could avoid being obliged to attend it and also be required to invite world leaders.

[8] Presiding over the funeral procession was Gorbachev's close friend, journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov.

[12] Naina Yeltsina, widow of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, said that Gorbachev "sincerely wanted to change the Soviet system" and transform the USSR into a "free and peaceful state".

[3] Gennady Zyuganov, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, told TASS that Gorbachev was a leader whose rule brought “absolute sadness, misfortune and problems” for “all the peoples of our country”.

[16] Navalny's ally, Lyubov Sobol, offered a similar sentiment, stating that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was an inevitability and "the role of Gorbachev in history in Russia will still be appreciated".

[20] António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, described Gorbachev as "a one-of-a-kind statesman who changed the course of history", going on to say that "[h]e did more than any other individual to bring about the peaceful end of the Cold War".

[17] In Europe, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called Gorbachev a "trusted and respected leader".

[19] Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese called Gorbachev a "man of warmth, hope, resolve and enormous courage".