- Sputnik International
Russia
The latest news and stories from Russia. Stay tuned for updates and breaking news on defense, politics, economy and more.

Lenin may be buried in cemetery near Moscow

Subscribe
The ex-Soviet leader, Vladimir Lenin, could be buried at a new cemetery under construction in the Moscow Region, the Russian tabloid Zhizn reported on Wednesday.
MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - The ex-Soviet leader, Vladimir Lenin, could be buried at a new cemetery under construction in the Moscow Region, the Russian tabloid Zhizn reported on Wednesday.

Lenin's body, with its face uncovered, has been on public display in a glass sarcophagus housed in a mausoleum on Red Square since his death in 1924. However, his continuing presence in the heart of Moscow has been a source of considerable controversy since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The idea of Lenin's reburial at a memorial complex currently built to the north of Moscow has been discussed at an official level, the cemetery's art director and sculptor Sergei Goryaev said.

The final decision on the issue has yet to be taken, Goryaev said, adding that more important Russian and Soviet historical figures could be also reburied at the complex.

The memorial complex, a counterpart of the famed Arlington National Cemetery in the United States, is expected to be unveiled in 2010. It's more than 53 hectares has space for more than 30,000 graves.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree on its construction in 2001.

Demands to transfer the body of the architect of the 1917 Russian Revolution to a regular cemetery have consistently been countered by Russian Communists, who insist that the tomb in Red Square remain the Soviet leader's final resting place.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала