Mikhail Gorbachev’s funeral to be held on September 3: Russian media

The funeral will be held at the Hall of Columns inside Moscow's House of Unions. This is the same place where former premier of the Soviet Union Josef Stalin's body was put on display after his death in 1953, the report added.

The funeral of the Soviet Union's last leader Mikhail Gorbachev will be held on September 3 (Saturday), a report by the Interfax news agency on Wednesday said. The funeral will be held at the Hall of Columns inside Moscow's House of Unions. This is the same place where former premier of the Soviet Union Josef Stalin's body was put on display after his death in 1953, the report added.

A picture shows Mikhail Gorbachev, displayed in his memory in his office at the Gorbachev Foundation headquarters in Moscow, on Wednesday.(AFP)

Earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that a decision would be taken on whether Gorbachev would be given a state funeral. Peskov added that the Kremlin would also announce later whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would attend the funeral.

Gorbachev died on Tuesday at a hospital in Moscow at the age of 91. According to the Central Clinical Hospital, the reason for his death was a long illness and the hospital refused to give further details.

Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 and sought to reform communism, and introduced the concepts of openness and change. In 1989, he was elected as the executive president of the Soviet Union and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his role in ending the Cold War.

However, Gorbachev was in power for less than seven years and spent his last months in the office watching republic after republic declare independence until he resigned on December 25, 1991. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union wrote itself into oblivion.

Gorbachev's death was mourned by leaders across the globe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had a complicated relationship with Gorbachev, said that the former Soviet leader had a huge impact on the course of world history.

Gorbachev led the country during “a period of complex, dramatic changes,” Putin said in a Telegram message.