Moscow residents bade farewell to former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev at the House of Unions on Saturday. Visitors explained what had prompted them to come and pay their respects to the politician.

"I can say that I love him. We have to say thank you today. I'm talking about the Crimean Tatars, political prisoners, and other people. Thanks to him, we ended Afghanistan earlier, we stopped being called the unsmiling gap between Europe and Asia. I'm glad about that. But now I grieve, I am very sorry. He lived a bright, decent life, he is an honourable man," one of the visitors said.

Another resident mentioned that Gorbachev 'laid the foundations for a free Russia.'

"He opted out of the one-party system. Previously, elections used to be fake, because there was only one party. Mikhail Sergeyevich created a real democracy. During his presidency, people began to travel around the world," the man said. 

Another respondent said that she is grateful to Gorbachev for her 'happy youth.'

"I started my path with Mikhail Sergeyevich, when he became president of the Soviet Union. Out of respect, I came here out of mercy, to say goodbye, to thank him for my happy youth and childhood. The Soviet Union brought me only joy," the woman told.

Gorbachev passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91.

He implemented several reforms aimed at liberalising the economy and public life after becoming the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985.

During his time in office, he saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, brought the Cold War to an end, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

He resigned at the end of 1991, triggering the breakup of the Soviet Union.