The day before Easter my Dutch friend, Jaap, and I did some sightseeing in Moscow. I guess you could say I did some sightseeing because he lives there and had already seen the sites countless times. However he was able to visit one site he had never before visited. We arrived at Red Square at around 12:30 and saw it was mainly blocked off, with a long line formed along the Kremlin wall. Being somewhat accustomed to Russian/Ukrainian culture (if there’s a line, one must join because there must be something worth waiting for) we went and queued up. We asked some of our queue mates what it was we were waiting for, and they said that this happened to be one of the days that people could visit Lenin’s tomb (from 10-1 p.m.) Fabulous.
When Lenin died, more than 83 years ago, his written wishes were for burial in a cemetery in Petrograd (renamed Leningrad three days after his death and more recently St. Petersburg), next to his mother. He did not want any sort of monuments dedicated to him. Joseph Stalin, the general secretary, had other ideas. Statues of Lenin were raised in almost all major Soviet cities (there is still one standing in Donetsk’s central square) and a mausoleum was built on Red Square. Lenin’s body was to be preserved. This proved to be an interesting task. He died in January and Stalin decreed that some sort of corpse-preservation technique be developed. Some biochemists took up the task and produced a successful formula six months later. Needless to say they also had to do some bleaching and touching up on the body to account for those months. The composition of the chemical mixture is, from what I understand, a state secret. It does contain a lot of wax and is reapplied every 18 months, but that’s about all I could find out.
Before being admitted to the Mauseleum we were required to check our cameras in the Russian history museum (adjacent the mausoleum). We proceeded and a guard quite firmly told me “take off your hat and get your hands out of your pockets” before we entered. It was almost pitch-black in the entrance, which made the descent down a handful of steps somewhat treacherous. The only things that were visible were the countless guards; who were posted at each corner, under 1-watt (my estimation) light bulbs. After weaving around several corners we found a strong contrast to the darkness; the glass lid on top of Lenin’s coffin was brightly lit (I found the picture online; I did not attempt to take in a camera and try my luck). The first picture is of Jaap and me outside the mausoleum. Notice our looks of pride in accomplishment, after having visited the tomb.
Rumor has it that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering, after Lenin has laid in the tomb for 83+ years, moving the body to the cemetery in St. Petersburg, to fulfill Lenin's original wishes. That rumor has probably been circulating for some decades and who knows if it will ever be carried out. Lenin’s corpse and mausoleum have a very interesting history that I have only begun to address. If it interest’s any of you, do an Internet search and check it out.
Dave
The day before Easter my Dutch friend, Jaap, and I did some sightseeing in 
Before being admitted to the Mauseleum we were required to check our cameras in the Russian history museum (adjacent the mausoleum). We proceeded and a guard quite firmly told me “take off your hat and get your hands out of your pockets” before we entered. It was almost pitch-black in the entrance, which made the descent down a handful of steps somewhat treacherous. The only things that were visible were the countless guards; who were posted at each corner, under 1-watt (my estimation) light bulbs. After weaving around several corners we found a strong contrast to the darkness; the glass lid on top of Lenin’s coffin was brightly lit (I found the picture online; I did not attempt to take in a camera and try my luck). The first picture is of Jaap and me outside the mausoleum. Notice our looks of pride in accomplishment, after having visited the tomb.
