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Lenin mausoleum reopens in Moscow
May 15, 2013, 12:13 pm

[AP]

People walk past the Lenin Mausoleum covered for reconstruction in Red Square [AP]

Vladimir Lenin’s Mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square has reopened today after an extensive stretch of renovation that worked on the foundation and restoration of the original lightning designed by Allexei Shusev.

The mausoleum is home to the mummified body of Lenin, who was embalmed in 1924 and has been on display ever since.

The mausoleum was closed in September last year and resembled a pile of snow during winter as it was covered with a specially designed balloon that kept above-zero temperatures inside to allow for repairs to be completed.

This was the first major repair work undertaken at the site since it was erected in 1930.

The foundations of the site became unstable as part of the Lenin’s Tomb stands on solid ground, while another part stands on the so-called “moving grounds” with an age-old underlying ditch.

During the repairs, Lenin’s body stayed enclosed in its normal sarcophagus inside the building, which was covered with a giant inflatable dome to ensure protection from potential damage.

The reopening once again sparks the debate on a proper burial of Lenin’s body, with communists claiming it is a shrine, and anti-communists suggesting the Soviet relic should be removed.

It remains a popular tourist attraction, where visitors can see the remains of the revolutionary leader in a glass sarcophagus.

The preserving of the body needs routine biochemical works that are carried out once every two years.

Daria Chernyshova