RUSSIA
Top Kremlin Secret
By Narmin Abido Alakhmad
Brooklyn, NY, United States
Imagine this: people are standing in the freezing cold just to catch a glimpse of someone they worship. How surprised would you be to learn that this person has been dead for over 150 years? But can we still call it a person if only the preserved shell remains, with no internal organs, and the skin requires regular care to keep it intact?
This might sound like something from science fiction, but it’s real. The preserved body on display belongs to Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), a key figure in the history of Russia. Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party and the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. He became the first ruler of the Soviet Union, serving for seven years until he died in 1924.
New Tradition
After Lenin’s death, the Soviet government had to decide what to do with his body. Joseph Stalin, who took power after Lenin, proposed embalming it and placing it in Red Square, the heart of Moscow, for the public to see. However, this idea sparked debate. Among the opposition was Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky.
Despite the controversy, when crowds of Russians began standing in subzero temperatures to view Lenin’s body, the Kremlin eventually gave in and decided to preserve it for public display. This plan led to the development of a top-secret maintenance process that remained classified for nearly 70 years.
Protection Process
Ilya Zbarsky, a biochemist, oversaw the care of Lenin’s body from 1934 to 1952. His father had developed the original embalming procedure, which involved injecting and immersing the body in various solutions. Although Zbarsky’s role ended long ago, preservation efforts still continue. Every few days, a team of scientists inspects Lenin’s body in its glass coffin, performing necessary procedures to maintain it as close to its original condition as possible.
This routine maintenance isn’t enough to keep the body fully protected, so every 18 months scientists immerse it in a tub in a research lab for about 45 days. They use a chemical solution that penetrates skin to ensure Lenin’s body remains flexible. Once the process is complete, the body is carefully wrapped in bandages, and Lenin is returned to his sarcophagus.
For over a century, this routine has kept Lenin looking much as he did on the day he died. How to preserve his body was once one of the Kremlin’s most closely guarded secrets.
Lenin’s embalmed body. Photo credit: Larry Koester via Flickr
The Secret Leaks
Imagine working for the government with the responsibility of preserving a body for decades, knowing that even a small mistake could bring severe consequences. Under Stalin’s rule, the care of Lenin’s corpse was an extremely dangerous job. Zbarsky, who managed the process, worked under constant fear, as any flaw could result in harsh punishment, such as execution or exile to Siberia.
One of Zbarsky’s most dangerous tasks came during World War II, when he was ordered to evacuate Lenin’s body to the Ural Mountains to prevent it from being captured by German forces. Despite his years of dedicated service, Zbarsky was fired in 1952 after authorities arrested his father during Stalin’s purges. For many years, Zbarsky kept the details of his work secret.
Zbarsky’s perilous work on preserving Lenin’s body wasn’t the only task of its kind. After Stalin’s death in 1953, a similar process was undertaken for his body, which was placed next to Lenin’s in the mausoleum. The entrance even bore both dictators’ names. However, during political reforms in 1961, Stalin’s body was moved to the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
Stalin’s grave. Photo credit: Ivan Castillo Otero via Flickr
Variety of Opinions
Later in life, Zbarsky revealed the secrets of the embalming process and the dangers he faced. In a newspaper interview, he also expressed his belief that Lenin’s body should finally be buried. Although Zbarsky had devoted much of his life to maintaining Lenin’s remains, he thought it was time to bury the leader.
Zbarsky wasn’t alone in this sentiment. Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s president after the Soviet Union collapsed, made several attempts to bury Lenin’s body. His last effort in the year before his death was unsuccessful, as he hesitated and ultimately couldn’t follow through. Even though a 2017 survey showed that 63 percent of Russians support the idea of burying Lenin, current President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that Lenin’s body will remain in its mausoleum.
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Math Resources
- Lenin died in 1924, and his body has been preserved ever since. How many years has Lenin’s body been preserved?
- If Lenin’s body is immersed in a special solution every 18 months, how many times has the process been performed up to now?
- If a 2017 survey showed that 63 percent of Russians want Lenin’s body buried, and the population of Russia at the time was approximately 144 million, how many people supported burial?
- Suppose that the embalming of Lenin’s body improves with each immersion by making it last 10 percent longer before it needs to be immersed again. If the initial immersion lasted for 45 days, how long will subsequent immersions last?
- Suppose the dimensions of the glass coffin housing Lenin’s body are six feet long, two feet wide, and two feet high. What is the volume and surface area of the coffin?
Social Justice Questions
- Conflicting views on burying Lenin reflect broader tensions in Russian society between those who view him as a crucial part of their history and those who see burying him as a step toward modernization. If you were a citizen of Russia, how might you feel about preserving a figure so deeply tied to the Soviet era? Would you support burying Lenin to close a chapter of the past, or do you think his physical presence should remain as a reminder of history?
- Considering that the Russian government no longer funds Lenin’s preservation, do you think it’s ethical for private donors to underwrite it when many citizens face unmet basic needs, such as housing and healthcare?
Explore Further
- Current viewpoints on Lenin’s mausoleum
- More details about the embalming of Lenin
- Lenin’s legacy throughout the years
- Take a walk around Lenin’s mausoleum
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