Lenin's Mausoleum
One of Moscow's most fascinating landmarks is the extraordinary mausoleum belonging to one of Russia's great leaders.
In this blog post, you'll discover unusually interesting facts on Lenin's Mausoleum, the intriguing but still eerie final resting site of famed Russian leader Vladimir Lenin.
I kept the last fact for last, since it's the best one revealing the secret to Lenin's unbelievable rosy skin complexion!
1. It's situated on Moscow's most famous square
Out of all the outstanding buildings lining Red Square, Lenin's Mausoleum is unquestionably the most uncommon, bordering on strange.
It's actually an unappealing monument shaped as a step-pyramid, standing before the East Kremlin Wall. It now serves the function as Russian leader Vladimir Lenin's final place of rest, who died in 1924.
2. Two days after Lenin's death a wooden tomb was built
Following his death, a wooden tomb was built so the citizens of Moscow can see his body.
A famous Russian architect Alexey Shchusev designed the wooden structure and only days after his demise, on January 27, Russians were forming a line in order to look at their leader's lifeless body.
But by August and in the same year, a much bigger structure replaced the wooden one, and then Lenin's body was transferred into a sarcophagus that was placed on public display.
3. Since 1924 Lenin's body has been publicly displayed
Probably the most stunning fact about Lenin's Mausoleum, the one that rivals even those of the best Egyptian mummies, is that his human remains have been displayed publicly inside this building from the time he was initially put here shortly after his death.
The sarcophagus that stores his body is built of glass, allowing visitors to clearly see his whole embalmed body just lying here as if only sleeping and about to wake up at any moment! Can that be said about any mummified remains?
During the time period from 1941 to the ending of WW ll, Lenin's body was moved briefly to Siberia to prevent it from getting taken by the Nazi army that invaded. Then, in 1973 a new sarcophagus replaced the old one.
There was a new plan of moving Lenin's body into a brand-new structure that would serve like Russia's version of Pantheon, of course, modeled on Rome's Pantheon, but finally was shelved.
4. The current structure was modeled on a step-pyramid
The structure's design, a step-pyramid, was no accident. Since time was of the essence, the structure was modeled on a funerary monument, more specifically, that of Step-Pyramid of Djoser, which is one of Egypt's most ancient as well as most intriguing attractions.
5. Another mummy joined Lenin's after World War ll
Joseph Stalin's embalmed body, once ruling the Soviet Union, joined Lenin's body between the years 1953 and 1961.
The 1960s was an era of de-Stalinization and a period known as the "Khrushchev's Thaw," for this was when the repressive grip of the former regime was loosened, beginning immediately after Stalin's demise; this finally culminated in his remains getting transferred from Lenin's Mausoleum.
Stalin's body was inevitably buried inside the Kremlin Wall Necropolis, standing behind the mausoleum.
6. The mausoleum's designated guard of honor was transferred to another tomb
The guard of honor in Russia is called the "Number One Sentry" who ceremonially protects the mausoleum from the time the order was issued back in 1984. This guard was finally disbanded, following the constitutional crisis of Russia in 1993.
However, in 1997, this type of guard officially went back in effect, except this time it had the role to protect the tombstone of an unnamed soldier, which represented a war memorial in dedication to all the soldiers dying in WWll, lying in the Alexander Garden.
Every guard has the duty lasting for one hour before another ceremony occurs when a new guard takes his place.
7. Maintaining the corpse in excellent condition is no simple job
How do you manage to keep anyone's body from decomposing completely, and far more challenging, appearing exactly the same as it once did right after the person dies?
After Lenin's body was placed on display for all eyes to see, it required specialized maintenance by a group of embalmers. In order to preserve Lenin's face and hands from showing dark spots, this team had to use ethyl alcohol and acetic acid.
Additional maintenance was required through hydrogen peroxide for restoring the skin's authentic color. A mix of phenol or quinine, potent disinfectants, are getting used for wiping out damp spots.
The outcome is honestly stunning as it seems that he just died yesterday, although it's nearly 100 years ago.
By the way, it's free to visit Lenin's Mausoleum.
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