Lets Embalm Lenin

Published: Jan. 27, 2023, 1 a.m.

b"The corpse of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, was placed on display in Moscow's Red Square on 27th January, 1924 - where, astonishingly, he remains viewable to this day.\\xa0\\nHe\\u2019d wanted to be buried next to his mother in Saint Petersburg, but after he suffered a series of strokes, the Soviet government instead secretly planned to build a mausoleum for his body, in part to deify him as a quasi-religious figure.\\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how pioneering embalming techniques were created by \\u2018The Lenin Lab\\u2019 to look after the cadaver; ponder how mausoleum architect Alexey Shchusev contented with the January freeze; and consider whether an embalmed Queen Victoria would be just as popular a tourist attraction\\u2026\\nFurther Reading:\\n\\u2022 \\u2018Death of Lenin\\u2019 (The Guardian, 1924): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/23/death-of-lenin-archive-1924\\n\\u2022 \\u2018Lenin's Body Improves with Age\\u2019 (Scientific American, 2015): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lenin-s-body-improves-with-age1/\\n\\u2022 \\u2018Russia: 100 Years on from Revolution\\u2019 (BBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPmlX4kWgjs\\n#Macabre #Russia #Revolution\\nWe'll be back on Monday - unless you join\\xa0\\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\\U0001f334, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!\\nPlus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.\\nJoin now via\\xa0Apple Podcasts\\xa0or\\xa0Patreon.\\xa0Thanks!\\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.\\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices"