A Russian trenchmortar crew run to take up a new firing position in the Stalingrad area during the Great Patriotic War. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). October 1942

Photo: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870 – 1924) lying in state in the Kremlin. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1924

Important! For the same article in Russian language click here.

Something quite intriguing is happening within Russian-speaking internet during the last few – should you type a fully academic inquiry (at least, according to Russian academic requirements) in national search engines for "Lenin's mausoleum" – the first thing you get (even in top 10 searches) is website pages talking about black magic and occult. Website authors view this construction differently, but unconditionally agree on one thing: the mausoleum of the "leader of the world proletariat” – the essence of a magical artifact, a sort of “energy vampire”. It was built with a certain purpose: to drain the energy out of miserable Soviet citizens on one hand; and to poison the anthroposphere of one-sixth part of the earth with its vibes (the exact territory that was occupied by the former Soviet Union), depriving the Russian people of will to resist on the other hand. Complete nonsense? No doubt. Nevertheless, an intriguing one. Well, probably because some oddities do exist in mausoleum's history. These oddities are the thing we are going to discuss this time. First, let me refresh you memory on the subject.

A view of a large poster depicting Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny behind bars with a dove freeing him from detention, by an unidentified street artist known as Harry Greb, in downtown Rome, Italy, 25 January 2021. Navalny was detained after his arrival to Moscow from Germany on 17 January 2021. A Moscow judge on 18 January ruled that he will remain in custody for 30 days following his airport arrest. Navalny urged Russians to take to the streets to protest against President Putin's rule. (Photo by Fabio Frustaci/EPA/EFE)

Ленинград – Ueban. Necessary explanation: “Ueban” is a very offensive word in Russian. Approximate translation: stupid, inept person. Obviously, humor is in contrast with the handsome man from Bollywood (by the way, the Indians made the clip, and this is noticeable).

Dolenjashvili is a Georgian painter often working in a monochrome technique. He is a Meritorious Artist of Georgia and an honorary member of Russian Academy of Arts.

Soviet cosmonaut and the first man to travel in space, Yury Alekseyvich Gagarin (1934–1968) arriving in London for a Russian trade fair. (Photo by Douglas Miller/Getty Images)

The Last Bell (we mean the bell that informs the pupils about the beginning or the ending of the lessons) is the traditional feast of the Russian pupils who leave the school. The Last School Bell feast occurs in the end of May, when the school year has already finished, but the final examinations have not begun yet. (Read more...)