if
I should die before I wake
Image:
When Lenin died, Stalin ordered
the best doctors and scientists to come up with a scheme whereby
they could preserve Lenin's body. This scheme was successful and
Lenin's mummy was placed in a specially constructed crypt on Red
Square. Lines of people came to view the body. When Stalin died,
his body was also preserved and he was placed in the crypt alongside
Lenin. Later during a period of de-Stalinization undertaken by Krushchev,
Stalin's body was removed under cover of night and buried in a modest
tomb alongside the Kremlin wall. Krushchev ordered thick layers
of concrete to be placed over the tomb so that Stalin could never
rise again. The Lenin mausoleum is still open today but since the
fall of communism there is much discussion about whether to dismantle
it and bury Lenin's corpse in a less conspicuous tomb. (credit:
Pictorial Parade)
Sound: coming soon |
(c) 1999 John Borneman
& Linda Fisher, All Rights Reserved
|