Financial crisis leaves Lenin mummy without new suit

The embalmed body of famous revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin has not received a new suit because of the economic crisis that hit Russia this year.

The body of Lenin, on free display in the mausoleum on Red Square, needs to be changed into new clothes every three years, Trud daily newspaper writes on Tuesday, one day ahead of Lenin’s birthday.

Once a year, the mummy is taken for a two-month maintenance. It is cleaned, bathed in preserving herbal essences and its clothes are washed and carefully ironed. With the unique embalming technology, specialists say, the body can be preserved for at least 100 years longer.

However every three years Lenin’s clothes need to be changed. Normally the suit is tailored from lustrine, an expensive silk that Lenin liked to wear while he was still alive. But this year the fund that sponsors Lenin’s wardrobe is out of money, Trud writes.

“There are hardly enough funds for the preservation works,” says Yuri Denisov-Nikolsky, deputy head of the Russian Institute for Healing and Aromatic Herbs.

“Since 1992, the mummy has been sponsored by charity funds alone. And now we've got this crisis,” he explains.

On April 22, the Communist leader turns 139 years old. Admission to the mausoleum for anyone who wants to congratulate Lenin is free. The visitors are required to leave their bags and cameras in a cloakroom before entering the room where Lenin lies; men are also required to take their hats off. Visitors are prohibited from keeping their hands in their pockets near the body.