Russia, 100 years since the opening of the Lenin mausoleum

*Lenin’s mausoleum has become a place of pilgrimage *Lenin remains one of the most remembered historical figures though the years

Transcript

00:00And in other news, one of the most symbolic sites in the history of the 20th century is Lenin Mausoleum,

00:06located in Moscow's Red Square, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

00:12Our correspondent Oleg Yatsinsky tells us about it.

00:17One hundred years ago, on August 1st, 1924, the mausoleum where the embalmed body of the leader

00:23of the world's proletariat Vladimir Ilyich Lenin rests was opened to the public.

00:29Only he, the only one on the planet,

00:31the only one unique on the planet, on the face of time in history,

00:34succeeded through excellent education, a strong state and the power of the people's

00:38communists to make the world society the work of feminist ideas.

00:45After Lenin's death on January 21st, 1924, architect Alexei Shushev was commissioned

00:52to build the mausoleum, where Soviet scientists Alexei Vorobyev and Boris Zvalsky embalmed the body.

01:02For example, in the year 1924, when Lenin died, there was no television then,

01:07almost nobody knew what he looked like physically. Most of the peasants were still illiterate,

01:13they didn't even get the breast. They remember how Sholokhov tells that in the Don region,

01:18they say that Lenin was probably a Don Cossack, because he was very brave.

01:23The Buryats believed that Lenin was a Buryat, because he cared about them.

01:27And then they really filled the leadership of the country with letters,

01:30explaining that all the people wanted and demanded to see him.

01:38Since it was opened to the public, Lenin's mausoleum has become a major tourist attraction

01:42for people from other countries, and some even consider it a pilgrimage site,

01:46because of its profound significance.

01:51More than 130 million people have visited the mausoleum since its creation.

01:55Let us not forget that it was on its walls that the Nazi flags were thrown

01:59when the Soviet Union liberated the world from the Hitler plague,

02:02in a gesture of having fulfilled its duty to him.

02:12The figure of Vladimir Lenin in history for me is very important.

02:15I study at the university its historical archives,

02:18and Lenin as a great historical figure deserves a good tribute.

02:27In this year of his centenary, Lenin remains one of the greatest historical figures

02:31most remembered through the years.

02:36His legacy to the working class, in power of the struggle of the peoples of the world,

02:40for their liberation, continue to be a reason to study his work

02:44that is already part of the heritage of humanity.