On Monday, 21 January 1924, at 18:50 EET,

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, leader of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and the first

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

and founder of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, died in Gorki aged 53 after falling into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. The official cause of death was recorded as an incurable disease of the blood vessels. Lenin was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

and then buried in a specially erected mausoleum on 27 January. A commission of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) was in charge of organising the funeral.

Funeral service

On 23 January, the coffin with Lenin's body was transported by train from Gorki to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and displayed at the Hall of Columns in the House of the Unions, and it stayed there for three days. On 27 January, the body of Lenin was delivered to

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

, accompanied by martial music. There assembled crowds listened to a series of speeches delivered by

Mikhail Kalinin Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (, ; 3 June 1946) was a Soviet politician and Russian Old Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the first chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state) from 1938 until his resignation in 1946. From ...

Grigory Zinoviev Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev (born Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky; – 25 August 1936) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. A prominent Old Bolsheviks, Old Bolshevik, Zinoviev was a close associate of Vladimir Lenin prior to ...

, and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, but notably not

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

, who had been convalescing in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. Trotsky would later claim that he had been given the wrong date for the funeral. Stalin's secretary, Boris Bazhanov would later corroborate this account as he stated "Stalin was true to himself: he sent a telegram to Trotsky, who was in the Caucasus undergoing medical treatment, giving a false date for Lenin's funeral". French historian Pierre Broue also cited the Moscow archives which documented written correspondence between Stalin and the secretary of the Abkhazian party, Nestor Lakoba, as evidence of Stalin's efforts to keep Trotsky in

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

during Lenin's funeral. Trotsky would also deliver a tribute to Lenin with his 1925 short book, "Lenin".

Alexei Rykov Alexei Ivanovich Rykov (25 February 188115 March 1938) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician and statesman, most prominent as premier of Russia and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Soviet Union from 1924 to 1929 and 1924 t ...

was also absent from the funeral as he had gone to Italy with his wife and had experienced

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. Afterwards the body was placed into the vault of a temporary wooden mausoleum (soon to be replaced with present-day Lenin's Mausoleum), by the Kremlin Wall. Despite the freezing temperatures, tens of thousands attended. Against the protestations of

Nadezhda Krupskaya Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya ( rus, links=no, Надежда Константиновна Крупская, p=nɐˈdʲeʐdə kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvnə ˈkrupskəjə; – 27 February 1939) was a Russian revolutionary, politician and politic ...

, Lenin's widow, Lenin's body was embalmed to preserve it for long-term public display in the Red Square mausoleum. The commander of the Moscow Garrison issued an order to place the

guard of honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

at the mausoleum, whereby it was colloquially referred to as the "Number One Sentry". During the embalming process, Lenin's brain had been removed; in 1925, an institute was established to dissect it, revealing that Lenin had had severe sclerosis. According to Bazhanov, Stalin was jubilant over Lenin's death while "publicly putting on the mask of grief". Similarly,

Old Bolshevik The Old Bolsheviks (), also called the Old Bolshevik Guard or Old Party Guard, were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Many Old Bolsheviks became leading politi ...

Grigory Sokolnikov Grigori Yakovlevich Sokolnikov (born Hirsch Yankelevich Brilliant; 15 August 1888 – 21 May 1939) was a Russian revolutionary, economist, and Soviet politician. Born to a Jewish family in Romny (now in Ukraine), Sokolnikov joined the Russian ...

reported Stalin making disparaging remarks about Lenin's passing with the words that he "couldn't die like a real leader!".

Post-Soviet period

After the events of the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, the guard of honour was disbanded. In 2018, Russian MP Vladimir Petrov suggested that Lenin's body be buried in 2024, the 100th anniversary of his death, because it was costing the state too much money to house the body in the mausoleum and proposed it be replaced with a wax or rubber model.

Gallery

File:19240209-lenin funeral transport from gorki to moscow.jpg, Transport of Lenin's body to the Gorki railway station. File:Lenin's Funeral Train, Moscow 03.jpg, Train that carried Lenin's body from Gorki to Moscow (with Locomotive U-127). File:Stalin, Kamenev and Tomsky carrying Lenin's coffin.jpg,

Lev Kamenev Lev Borisovich Kamenev. ( Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. A prominent Old Bolsheviks, Old Bolshevik, Kamenev was a leading figure in the early Soviet government and served as a Deputy Premier ...

and Mikhail Tomsky carrying Lenin's coffin. File:Mikhail Tomsky, Mikhail Kalinin, Nadezhda Krupskaya and Jānis Rudzutaks at Lenin's funeral.jpg, Mikhail Tomsky,

and

Jānis Rudzutaks Jānis Rudzutaks (; – 29 July 1938) was a Latvian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. He was executed during the Great Purge. Early life Rudzutaks was born in the Kuldīga district of the Courland Governorate (present-day Kur ...

at Lenin's funeral. File:Lenin dead.jpg, The information poster about Lenin's death, dated 22 January 1924.

References

Works cited

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External links