Tribute to Solzhenitsyn

The air was thick with the scent of incense and freshly cut flowers, as more than a dozen white-robed Orthodox priests sang hymns and recited prayers at the funeral of Alexander Solzhenitsyn in Moscow.

Broadcast live on state television, the funeral was the epilogue to an extraordinary life.

He was buried in the grounds of Donskoi monastery.

"There goes Russia's last conscience," sighed one old man.

President Dmitry Medvedev looked on, flanked by Solzhenitsyn's widow, Natalya, and his three sons. He appeared to shed a tear as the coffin was covered with earth.