Russian President Dmitry Medvedev joined Polish and foreign leaders for the state funeral on Sunday of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife in Krakow, where thousands gathered to pay respects.
The funeral service was held in St Mary's Basilica, from where a procession took the coffins to be buried in the historic Wawel Cathedral.
As well as Medvedev, presidents of Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Georgia were among the mourners, but world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama did not attend due to the volcanic ash over Europe grounding flights.
Medvedev laid flowers and lit a candle in front of portraits of Kaczynski and his wife before entering the church for the service. An estimated 145,000 people gathered in Krakow to pay their respects, and many also left flowers and candles.
About 45,000 people were in the square outside the church, while 100,000 more were in public spaces elsewhere in the city.
The Polish president was heading a top level delegation for a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre when his plane crashed near Smolensk in the morning on April 10, killing all 97 people on board.
KRAKOW (Poland), April 18 (RIA Novosti)
