Lenin's Mausoleum: The Body That Built a Cult

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the bizarre and macabre history of Lenin's mausoleum—how a revolutionary who despised personal cults became an immortal icon preserved in a Red Square tomb. They discuss the initial makeshift wooden structure designed by Alexey Shchusev in 1924, the controversial decision to embalm Lenin's body using a secret formula developed by Vladimir Vorobiev and Boris Zbarsky, and the scientific and political challenges of maintaining the corpse for nearly a century. The conversation covers the transition to the granite mausoleum in 1930, the role of the body in Soviet propaganda, the evacuation to Tyumen during World War II, and the ongoing debates about burial. They also touch on the embalming of other communist leaders like Ho Chi Minh and Kim Il-sung as a legacy of Lenin's example. A fascinating look at how the Bolsheviks turned their dead leader into a symbol of eternal revolution.

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