(Moscow) People nostalgic for Lenin gathered on Sunday in Moscow, Russia, in front of his mausoleum on the occasion of the 100e anniversary of the death of the father of the Bolshevik Revolution and the Soviet Union.
Under a beautiful blue winter sky and despite temperatures around -15°C, dozens of people lined up on Red Square in the heart of Moscow to pay their respects, lay flowers or pay their respects in front of the remains. of Lenin.
Its mausoleum, a red and black stone building housing the embalmed body of Lenin, has stood in the shadow of the Kremlin since 1930 and has remained a tourist attraction since the end of the USSR more than thirty years ago.
Yulia, a 47-year-old municipal deputy, told AFP she came to Red Square to “honor the memory of Vladimir Lenin, our leader, the founder of the Soviet state” who fought “for justice”.
PHOTO ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO, ASSOCIATED PRESS
“He played a role not only for Russia, but for the whole world,” says Nikolai, 73, for his part.
An argument also shared by Olga, a 73-year-old retiree, according to whom Lenin “really did a lot”. “He created the State,” she summed up to AFP, chapka on her head.
Among the few nostalgic people present on Sunday, some are holding portraits of the Soviet leader who died at age 53 in 1924. Others have the red flag of the Communist Party, which remains one of the political parties represented in the Duma and authorized to take part in the elections.
Lenin “represents an ideal, which should not only be respected, but we must also follow his path”, believes Valentina Alexandrovna, 78 years old.
Small bouquet in hand, fur coat on her back, this retiree also believes that “only” Lenin’s doctrine can allow Russia “to emerge from the current situation”. “Our country is on the brink of collapse.”