History of Lenin's Mausoleum

In the very heart of Moscow, on Red Square, 9, rises the majestic Mausoleum of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin - a structure created in 1930 according to the design of the architect Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev. However, the idea of preserving the leader's body was born during his lifetime.
 

In 1923, when Lenin was suffering from atherosclerosis and his health was deteriorating, members of the Politburo began to discuss what to do with his body after his death. Immediately after the death of the main organizer of the October Revolution was announced on January 21, 1924, a special commission was created to develop a plan of action.

The next day, pathologist A.I. Abrikosov embalmed Lenin's body with a special mixture that preserved its appearance for six days, so that everyone who wanted to could say goodbye to the leader. Before the funeral, it was decided to place the body in the House of Unions, where about a million people came in three days. The commission received thousands of letters asking not to bury Lenin, and the leader's widow, Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, agreed so that people could say goodbye to him for another month. She was against embalming and placing the body in a sarcophagus.
 

Despite the disputes among those close to Lenin, it was decided to preserve his body, and the architect A.V. Shchusev began designing the mausoleum. His task was to create a temporary version of the tomb, which would also be a solemn monument, organically fitting into the architecture of the square.

The mausoleum was built on time - it was a three-meter dark-gray wooden cube with a three-step pyramid and the inscription "LENIN". On January 27, the leader's body was transferred from the House of Unions to the crypt. After the funeral, members of the government began talking about the need to build a monumental burial vault, and already in the spring of the same year, a second wooden mausoleum with stands greeted visitors.

The second and third mausoleums were also designed by Shchusev. Although a competition for a new design was announced after the funeral, it was decided to preserve the image created by Alexey Viktorovich.

The latest version of the structure that we see today was built of stone in 1929–1930. In addition to the funeral hall, which became larger, a vestibule appeared inside. The height and weight of the structure increased significantly.
 

New guest stands for 10,000 seats were also built and burials near the Kremlin wall were designed. Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev continued to work on finding a suitable sarcophagus that would not attract attention and could maintain the optimal temperature for the body. Such a sarcophagus was installed only after the end of the war.

During the war, Lenin's body was taken to Tyumen, and the mausoleum was disguised as an estate.

After the war, no significant changes were made to the architecture of the mausoleum. The last reconstruction was carried out in 2012–2013: the foundation was strengthened, the external seams were sealed, and the historical lighting was restored.

The mausoleum is now open as usual, and nearly a hundred years after Lenin's death, people continue to line up to see the leader's body.

Features of the architecture of Lenin's Mausoleum

Lenin's Mausoleum is a tomb structure designed in the style of Soviet constructivism by the architect Shchusev. To create the monument, he turned to the neo-Egyptian architectural style, creating a tomb in the image of the Egyptian pyramids. The pyramidal part of the structure consists of five ledges of different heights, with the upper one shifted to the Kremlin wall, and a tribune located on the first.
 

The height of the building is 12 meters, and the length of the facade is 24 meters. Large slabs of brick-colored granite were used for the cladding of the structure. The mourning belt is made of black labradorite, and the slab that tops the mausoleum is made of Karelian red porphyry. The slab with the inscription "LENIN" weighs about 48 tons, and the pedestal for the sarcophagus - 20 tons. The weight of the other monoliths varies from one to ten tons.

Under the reinforced concrete foundation slab there is a sand cushion, which protects the structure from vibrations during construction work, Victory parades, etc.

You can enter the main room of the mausoleum, the funeral hall, by the left staircase and exit by the right. As in the mausoleum's cladding, the interior of the funeral hall uses black labradorite and red porphyry, creating the effect of waving banners of fiery color.

The funeral hall is a dim, cold room in the shape of a cube, each side of which is ten meters long. The interior of the hall is very laconic and simple. In the center there is a pedestal with a crystal sarcophagus, in which Vladimir Ilyich lies in a formal suit. The sarcophagus is decorated on both sides with bronze bas-reliefs.