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Retired builder Vasili Sidamonidze, 70, poses for a portrait at his home in Gori, Georgia, December 6, 2016. “Unfortunately, Stalin is not popular nowadays. Our people don't respect him. Only we, members of the (Communist) Party, respect him”, Sidamonidze said. “I always try to attend Stalin's birthday anniversaries in Gori. Unfortunately many people don't want to join us even if they live nearby. They look at us from their windows”. Stalin, who was born in Gori in 1878 and died in 1953, is largely reviled today in Georgia, which regained its independence during the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Over the years, his memorials have been dismantled, most recently in 2010 when authorities removed a statue of the dictator from Gori's central square. But Stalin is still revered by a small group of mainly elderly supporters who stress his role in the industrialisation of the Soviet Union and in defeating Nazi Germany in World War Two. Each Dec. 21, a few dozen people mark his birthday by gathering outside a Gori museum dedicated to Stalin, where they make speeches and walk to the square where a 6-meter-high bronze statue of him once stood, calling for it to be reinstated. Opponents say it was a symbol of Moscow's still lingering shadow. In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia and recognised its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)

Retired builder Vasili Sidamonidze, 70, poses for a portrait at his home in Gori, Georgia, December 6, 2016. “Unfortunately, Stalin is not popular nowadays. Our people don't respect him. Only we, members of the (Communist) Party, respect him”, Sidamonidze said. “I always try to attend Stalin's birthday anniversaries in Gori. Unfortunately many people don't want to join us even if they live nearby. They look at us from their windows”. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)
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17 Dec 2016 07:59:00
1924:  Vladimir Ilyich Lenin lying in state in the Kremlin

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.
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16 Oct 2011 11:27:00
This undated handout photo received from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance on October 28, 2016 shows a adelie penguin jumping onto the ice in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The world's largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after a “momentous” agreement was finally reached on October 28, 2016 with Russia dropping its long-held opposition. A remote and largely pristine stretch of ocean off Antarctica received international protection on Friday, becoming the world's largest marine reserve as a broad coalition of countries came together to protect 598,000 square miles of water. The new marine protected area in the Ross Sea was created by a unanimous decision of the international body that oversees the waters around Antarctica – the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources – and was announced at the commission's annual meeting in Tasmania. The commission comprises 24 countries, including the United States, and the European Union. (Photo by John Weller/AFP Photo/Antarctic Ocean Alliance)

This undated handout photo received from the Antarctic Ocean Alliance on October 28, 2016 shows a adelie penguin jumping onto the ice in the Ross Sea in Antarctica. The world's largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after a “momentous” agreement was finally reached on October 28, 2016 with Russia dropping its long-held opposition. (Photo by John Weller/AFP Photo/Antarctic Ocean Alliance)
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29 Oct 2016 11:43:00
A model presents a creation from the Gareth Pugh Spring/Summer 2016 collection during London Fashion Week in London, Britain September 19, 2015. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

A model presents a creation from the Gareth Pugh Spring/Summer 2016 collection during London Fashion Week in London, Britain September 19, 2015. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)
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21 Sep 2015 11:56:00
A model waits backstage to present creations from the Fall-Winter 2021/2022 collection of the Georgiela Studio fashion brand during a young talents “EGO” fashion show on the last day of the 73rd Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, in Madrid, Spain, 11 April 2021. The fashion event runs from 08 to 11 April. (Photo by Mariscal/EPA/EFE)

A model waits backstage to present creations from the Fall-Winter 2021/2022 collection of the Georgiela Studio fashion brand during a young talents “EGO” fashion show on the last day of the 73rd Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid, in Madrid, Spain, 11 April 2021. The fashion event runs from 08 to 11 April. (Photo by Mariscal/EPA/EFE)
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13 Apr 2021 07:43:00
Model Lea Vlamos wears a creation for the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, January 24, 2018. (Photo by Francois Mori/AP Photo)

Model Lea Vlamos wears a creation for the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 fashion collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, January 24, 2018. (Photo by Francois Mori/AP Photo)
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29 Jan 2018 07:06:00
A model presents a creation by Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid, MBFWM, in Madrid, Spain, 16 September 2016. The MBFWM runs from 15 to 20 September 2016. (Photo by J.J. Guillen/EPA)

A model presents a creation by Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid, MBFWM, in Madrid, Spain, 16 September 2016. The MBFWM runs from 15 to 20 September 2016. (Photo by J.J. Guillen/EPA)
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18 Sep 2016 08:23:00
A view of one of the stands during the inauguration of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) fair, the largest audiovisual show in the world, in Barcelona city, Catalonia, north-eastern Spain, 31 January 2023. The event runs until 03 February, gathers 68,000 registered attendees and 1,055 exhibiting companies. (Photo by Quique Garcia/EPA)

A view of one of the stands during the inauguration of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) fair, the largest audiovisual show in the world, in Barcelona city, Catalonia, north-eastern Spain, 31 January 2023. The event runs until 03 February, gathers 68,000 registered attendees and 1,055 exhibiting companies. (Photo by Quique Garcia/EPA)
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11 Mar 2023 03:48:00