Today, I gazed upon the body of dead Lenin. The scene was perhaps one of the creepest I have ever seen; a long walk down a series of dimly lit corridors into a room in the heart of the tomb where the encased body of Lenin has been on display since 1924. The outside of the tomb was flanked by graves and memorials of other Soviet leaders and revolutionaries, including one Josef Stalin. As I passed the latter's grave, I was never more tempted to deface the tomb stone. For it could easily be argued that this one person is directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of more people than any one in human history.
As I walked around the grounds of the tomb, I realized that these dead men are as dead as the state they strived to establish and preserve; a state that is itself as dead as Lenin in his tomb.
Just outside the square, an old school Communist was shouting propaganda and selling books by Lenin, Stalin, and Che Gevara. Few gave them an ear other than a dozen older folks who were old enough to have seen the Soviet Union in its peak years.
In other news, I finally got to go out of the city last weekend to a smaller city called Sergiev Pasad. It is a town that is situated around an old 15 century monastery. I loved it. The people are extremely helpful and friendly. It was a breath of fresh air for me since folks in Moscow are a little more reserved than where I come from. It almost felt like home....
Avoiding the temptation to deface the graves of dead tyrants, so long from the Wild Wild East.