Russia’s Putin joins mourners to pay respects to ex-classmate and top judge

Moscow (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin joined those who mourned to say goodbye to Irina Podnosova, former classmate of the Russian Supreme Court, who died at the age of 71 at the beginning of this week.

Putin is sitting next to the members of Podnosova’s family, sitting in a Moscow hospital where the open coffin is besieged by an honorary guard and exhibited to pay for people to pay their final respect.

Putin placed a bouquet of red flowers at the bottom of the coffin, passed himself and bowed his head on the open coffin before talking to his family.

72 -year -old Putin and Podnosova were law students in Leningrad in the 1970s, Leningrad in Leningrad in St Petersburg, where he launched his future career in KGB security service. Podnosova was one of the few reliable partners who played high -level roles in politics and judiciary after becoming president.

Podnosova has been the president of the Supreme Court for more than a year. According to the Russian media, he died of cancer.

(Reporting by Reuters, writing by Andrew Osborn by Mark Trevellian)