Will Russia ever say goodbye to Lenin?

On the eve of the anniversary of Lenin's death, State Duma deputy from United Russia said that Lenin's body should be removed from the Red Square. He believes that the mummy of the leader has become a cult object of the new religion created by the Communists against his own will. What do religious leaders and community activists think about this?

State Duma deputy Vladimir Medinsky said that "Lenin is an extremely controversial political figure and his presence as a central figure in the necropolis in the heart of Russia is the extreme absurdity."

"Everyone knows that Lenin himself was not going to build a mausoleum, and his living relatives - sister, brother and mother - were strongly opposed to the idea. They wanted to bury him in St. Petersburg with his mother. But the Communists did not care about the desires of the leader and his relatives. They had to create a cult, substituting religion, "said the deputy, adding that" this perversion must end."

While the Orthodox in Russia have different opinions about Stalin as a historical figure, the attitude toward Lenin is unambiguously negative.

"It amazes me that there are no monuments to Stalin in our country, not a single street named after him. But Lenin who did nothing but evil for our country and founded all the horrors that are now credited to Stalinism, is everywhere. It was Lenin, Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, these Bolshevik leaders who came to power in 1917, who introduced concentration camps and executions of hostages. Yudenich came to Petrograd, and tens of thousands of people who have nothing to do with Yudenich have been shot there. And now, the monuments to Lenin are all over the country, and his body still remains in the mausoleum, "said in an interview with Pravda.ru a well-known businessman Vasily Boiko-Veliky, head of Cultural and Educational Foundation in honor of Saint Basil the Great.

Boyko- Veliky said that "under the leadership of Stalin the Russian people won the war. He did a lot, especially in the period immediately before the war, the wartime and post-war revival of Russia. But he had been and still remains a Bolshevik and a bloody dictator. Those good deeds he had done should be called good, and the evil deeds should be called evil".

A well-known missionary, professor at the Moscow Theological Academy Archdeacon Andrei Kuraev said in an interview with Vesti FM, that he, frankly, was already a little tired of the discussions about the future of the mausoleum. "I think we need our leader to show a strong political behavior, make an intelligible decision and explain to people why they do this," he said.

"I would very much like visiting the Red Square, the main area of the country, without standing next to the man who has spent his entire life destructing this country," said Archdeacon Kuraev.

At the same time, the famous theologian does not consider it necessary to demolish the building of the mausoleum. "I would not want it demolished. The building is there, it fits well in terms of architecture. We could think about the way to use it. It does not have to house a museum associated with the events of the era of the revolution. I think an exhibition of children's drawings will look good there," he is convinced.

In turn, political analyst Viktor Militarev believes that the mausoleum should be rebuilt into an Orthodox church in honor of the New Russian Martyrs and Confessors.

There are conspiracy theories prevalent in the Orthodox environment that say that architect Shchusev who built Lenin's mausoleum in 1924 used the design of Pergamon Altar, Satan's throne, as the basis of this tombstone. According to several representatives of the Orthodox community, the mere coincidence of the initials of the leader of the Bolsheviks with those of the idol of the ancient Villa is telling, as well as the fact that Lenin's mummy is kept inside a copy of the Babylonian ziggurat.

Olga Gumanova
Pravda.Ru