Kremlin offers mixed view of Gorbachev’s historic role

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials and lawmakers are treading carefully while reacting to Mikhail Gorbachev’s death. They are praising him for his role in ending the Cold War but deploring his failure to avert the Soviet Union’s collapse. The Kremlin’s ambivalence was reflected in the uncertainty about funeral arrangements. An iconic central venue chosen for Saturday’s farewell ceremony has been used for state funerals since the Soviet times, but the Russian media reported that Gorbachev will not be given a state funeral. The ambivalent stand was reflected by state television broadcasts that paid tribute to Gorbachev as a historic figure but described his reforms as poorly planned and held him responsible for failing to safeguard the country’s interests in dialogue with the West.