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The authorities on Tuesday released details about Václav Havel’s funeral procession. The casket with the remains of the late Czech president will leave the Prague Crossroads centre in Prague’s Old Town, where it has lain in state since Monday, at 8 AM on Wednesday. The casket will be placed on the same gun carriage that was used in the funeral procession of Czechoslovakia’s first president, T. G. Masaryk, in 1937, and will be drawn by three pairs of horses. The procession will cross Charles Bridge and move up to the Prague Castle area where it should arrive by 10 AM. After a brief ceremony at the Castle Guards barracks, the coffin will be transported to the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle where it will remain until Friday’s funeral ceremony. Václav Havel’s widow, Dagmar Havlová, has invited the public to join the procession.

Amidst media speculation that the Kremlin ignored the death of former Czech leader Václav Havel, the Russian embassy in Prague on Tuesday said an official condolence was sent to President Václav Klaus on Monday. A spokesman for the embassy said the condolence on behalf of the Russian Federation’s leaders, President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, was sent through diplomatic channels to Prague Castle. The spokesman also said the embassy had not received an official invitation for the funeral.

Continuing our commemoration of the late president Václav Havel we talk with Tomáš Sedláček, the renowned economist who, in 2001 as a precocious university graduate, came to work for Mr Havel as an economic advisor at the age of 23. In a special interview, he began by describing his first meeting with the iconic figure.

As thousands of Czechs line up to pay their last respects to Václav Havel, bowing to his casket at the Prague Crossroads spiritual centre where he is lying in repose, preparations are underway for Wednesday’s funeral procession to Prague Castle, Friday’s celebratory mass at St. Vitus’ Cathedral and other commemorative events.

Hundreds of people have been paying their last respects to Mr Havel, bowing in silence before his closed coffin at the former church of St. Anna in Prague. The site opened at noon on Monday. Mr Havel’s widow, Dagmar Havlová, placed a bouquet of roses with a black ribbon on her husband's casket. Others, too, have been bringing flowers. Ornamental details in the hall were put together by Mr Havel’s friend and former collaborator at Prague Castle, architect Bořek Šípek.

The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, has praised the Mr Havel as a statesman for his commitment to the highest humanistic values; he made the statement in a condolence letter sent to Mr Havel’s successor Václav Klaus. In the letter, Mr Gorbachev recalls the former Czech president’s official visit to the Kremlin in 1990, during which future ties as well as the departure of Russian troops from Czech soil were discussed. Mr Gorbachev and Havel met again in 1992 at the Czechoslovak Embassy in Moscow, the former leader points out. He writes that he hoped that their meetings left a positive mark on Czech-Russian ties.

Richard von Weizsäcker, the former German president, also remembered Mr Havel on Monday, telling journalists that he had been a true friend and a role-model. He made the comment after signing a book of condolences at the Czech Embassy in Berlin. He made clear that Mr Havel had helped Germany to correct past wrongs it had committed against its neighbours, including Czechoslovakia.

In related news, neighbouring Slovakia has announced a national day of mourning on December 23, a decision taken by Iveta Radičová’s government on Monday. The day of mourning will last from 8 am to 6 pm.

European institutions the European Council, Parliament and Commission, as well as NATO headquarters, flew their flags at half-mast on Monday in honour of former president Václav Havel, while the European Council held a minute of silence in the former statesman’s memory. A day earlier, upon hearing of Mr Havel’s passing, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy credited Mr Havel with “creating history in his country”, while the head of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso called him “a true champion of democracy and freedom”. Mr Havel was seen as one of the most important figures in the push for the Czech Republic joining NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Mr Havel’s body is lying in repose in the former church of St. Anna in Prague, the spiritual centre founded by the late president, for two days as of Monday. His remains will then be transferred to the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle, where he will lie in state.

In related news, members of the public began lining up to sign condolence books at Rothmayer Hall at Prague Castle on Monday morning. Five tables, covered in black cloth, were provided for the occasion, near a Czech flag and a photograph of Mr Havel, who died on Sunday at the age of 75. The first to write his condolences was Mr Havel’s successor to the presidency, Václav Klaus, followed by the heads of Parliament, Milan Štech and Miroslava Němcová, and Archbishop Dominik Duka. Dozens of others waited their turn shortly before the hall’s opening. One condolence book is for public figures (and VIPs) – four others are for regular visitors wishing to pay their respects. Visitor lines have swelled throughout the day. The hall will be open until 8 pm.