Putin against closing mausoleum, burying Lenin’s body

Itar Tass News Agency ^ | 2-7-06 | ITAR-TASS

[Stellar Dendrite]

MOSCOW, February 7 (Itar-Tass) -- President Vladimir Putin does not support the idea to close the Red Square mausoleum and bury Vladimir Lenin’s body.

“I wish to find solutions, which would enjoy support by the majority of citizens and promote reconciliation and unity of the nation rather than a split,” Putin told the Spanish media.

“I visited [Francisco] Franco’s grave when I was in Spain in the middle of the 1990s. Opinions may differ, and there are two completely different things. I am against drawing any parallels between fascism and communism,” he said.

“Each ideology has its own notions of justice and problems, but it would be incorrect to match them,” he said. “Franco is a rather controversial personality, and there are different assessments of his role. But he was buried in a pantheon with all the honors.”

“Spanish people suffered a lot during the Civil War, and Russian citizens suffered equally or even more during the civil confrontation,” Putin said. “Nowadays, we should not provoke a split but promote unification and reconciliation with every step of ours.”

[Stellar Dendrite]

ping

[Stellar Dendrite]

ping

[Freedom_no_exceptions]

I am against drawing any parallels between fascism and communism,” he said.

I'm sure his mirror has a way of drawing the parallels for him.

[GSlob]

In other news: the second apple has fallen on the head of Sir Isaac Newton. "This confirms the law of gravity", said the prominent scientist.

[Enchante]

How about give the old totalitarian tyrant a bath in high-powered acid until there's nothing left but chemicals? Then pour the discharge into the sewer system for a fitting place of repose.

[Westlander]

Suggestion, 'pink mist' but judging on the age of the corpse it would be 'grey mist'.

[Tulsa Ramjet]

my gosh, that thing must really stink by now. shoo weee.

[Freedom_no_exceptions]

Better yet, since Putin doesn't want to bury Lenin, how 'bout he has to keep the corpse in his living room?

[lizol]

Ping

[MARKUSPRIME]

Putin is a turd bag. Commie piece of trash.

[Stellar Dendrite]

you're preaching to the choir :)


PUCK FUTIN!!!!!!!!!!!

[fat city]

“Franco is a rather controversial personality, and there are different assessments of his role."

And, of course, we all agree that Lenin was a noble hero, worthy of all accolades.

Seriously, whatever happened to that "Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum" or that "Barnum's Museum of Oddities" that used to have those stuffed "Half-Monkey, Half-Fish" freaks. Both Lenin and Franco exhibits would fit in well.

[GarySpFc]

Somebody is neglecting to tell the truth. Putin tried to remove the body previously, but there were objections from some quarters.

Lenin going! Moscow now capitalist den

M Chhaya in Kolkata | October 01, 2005 17:25 IST

India's top Communist leaders are stunned and upset over Russian President Vladimir Putin wanting to remove Lenin's mummified body from Moscow's Red Square and give it a final burial.

The Kremlin this week reportedly announced that it was time to bury Lenin's body alongside other Bolshevik leaders.

The news has been received with bewilderment and anger by top Communist Party of India-Marxist leaders like Jyoti Basu and Anil Biswas.

So angry was Basu that he said socialism was finished in Russia and that capitalism had grown deep roots in Moscow.

"They (Russians) have buried Stalin's body and now they want to do the same to Lenin's. This is most unfortunate," Basu said.

Stalin's mummified body was kept alongside that of Lenin for many years, and Basu remembered one of his Russia visits when he had seen the mortal remains of both leaders together at the Red Square.

Also angry was CPI-M's politburo member Anil Biswas who said Lenin's body had remained in Red Square despite several attempts within a quarter in Kremlin to bury it.

"Lenin's mummified body is a Russian heritage and a national memorial in itself. We don't support the move to bury Lenin's body" Biswas said.

[jslade]

The answer is EBay. Old Lenin would bring millions.

[MARKUSPRIME]

LOL! I would bid on Lenin my cat would use him as a scratching post.

[GarySpFc]

Russia Weighs What to Do With Lenin's Body

Revisiting a proposal that thwarted Boris N. Yeltsin, who faced down tanks but in his time as president could not persuade Russians to remove the Soviet Union's founder from his place of honor, a senior aide to President Vladimir V. Putin raised the matter last week, saying it was time to bury the man.

"Our country has been shaken by strife, but only a few people were held accountable for that in our lifetime," said the aide, Georgi Poltavchenko. "I do not think it is fair that those who initiated the strife remain in the center of our state near the Kremlin."

[Romanov]

Does anybody have the Russian version of Putin's statements on this? If you read the article, the title doesn't support the body. He doesn't say he's against burying it, but rather says they're looking at ways to find a solution that will make all happy. A Russian colleague of mine told me that last time this came up (and Putin appeared to want to have Lenin buried), that Lenin will probably get ousted from Red Square when the older generation has passed on.

One thing I noticed on Red Square is the lines to his kukla are mainly comprised of foreign tourists. Myself? Never been - don't pay homage to a mass murderer.

[wireplay]

Well, it was fascinating. When I visited it, it was before the whole country had collapsed and they were still doing the changing of the guards, etc. All I can say is that he ought to be buried and be done with it.

Nonetheless, it was stunningly beautiful inside with 4 guards, 1 on each side of the body. The granite/marble was incredible. The body looked like any other body at a funeral despite its age. It was surreal.

[fso301]

I thought Lenins body was at the point of decay where it really needed to be buried.