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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