The Lenin statue was purchased by the Fremont Chamber of Commerce when the Soviet Union had its going-out-of-business-sale a decade ago. The Chamber intended it as a conversation piece and a trophy of the Cold War. Think of it as a large bronze coonskin nailed over the fireplace.
The residents of Fremont, however, take it quite seriously, as befits a festive slice of Berkeley transported to the Pacific Northwest.
When Iraq fell, I wrote the Chamber suggesting they buy a Saddam statue to add to their collection. If nothing else, it would make a matched set.