
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the country’s first elected president, was laid to rest in Moscow on Wednesday. Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush joined other dignitaries for the funeral at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the first such ceremony for a Russian leader to be held in a church in more than 100 years.
BBC:
Ahead of the funeral, Mr. Yeltsin’s body had been laid out in the city’s main cathedral since Tuesday. Four members of the Kremlin Guard kept watch over the coffin, as thousands of ordinary Russians filed past.
There followed a religious ceremony held in the imposing cathedral, with its marble and gold domes, which was rebuilt under Mr. Yeltsin after being demolished during Soviet rule.
Mr. Yeltsin’s coffin was then carried through streets lined with mourners to Novodevichy cemetery for burial.
|
A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2008 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved. |