Burying Lenin: Too Early or Already Too Late

Burying Lenin: Too Early or Already Too Late

July 10, 2025 08:56・Opinion

Should we bury Lenin? In the movie "Diamond Hand," Semyon Semyonovich Gorbukov thinks he has a choice — to buy a robe with mother-of-pearl buttons or without. But in reality, he has no choice; he will be poisoned regardless. We have no real choice regarding Lenin either.

Author: Dmitriy Samoylov – political commentator, literary critic

Political technique experts say that whenever it is necessary to divert public attention from some truly important events and decisions, there are always people who start discussions about whether to move Vladimir Lenin's body out of the mausoleum. What else could distract us, living in another apocalyptic crisis? However, political technique experts see more clearly that this discussion has once again become popular.

Should we bury Lenin? If you remember, in Leonid Gayda's film "Diamond Hand," Semyon Semyonovich Gorbukov thought he had a choice — to buy a robe with mother-of-pearl buttons or without. But in reality, he had no choice; he would be poisoned regardless. This is both an inevitable logic of the story and simply because the director decided so. We have no real choice regarding Lenin either. Imagine a country holding a grand funeral for Ilyich a hundred years after his death, thirty-five years after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It's absurd, but this is not Gayda's comedy, and we don't intend to amuse anyone on purpose.

No, Lenin will remain in the mausoleum; let him lie there, let people embalm him again and again, let students visit. Such things only happen here, and let us keep it as another mark of our uniqueness. After all, if you don't like it, you can simply ignore it.

But the problem is that the embalmed Lenin carries strong symbolic meaning for many people. Some claim that when a corpse lies on the central square, no good will come to the country. Others say that the country continues to exist only because someone still reveres this great leader, and moving him away would mean betraying the spirit of history.

Both statements are fundamentally wrong because they appeal to idealist thinking and exaggerate the significance of symbols. The issue should be viewed from another angle: How strong is the vitality of leftist ideas in today's world? What is Leninism?

First, it is the idea of building socialism in a relatively backward country and achieving a comprehensive victory. Marx believed that an equal society could only emerge in advanced countries, while Lenin refuted this assertion through his own practice.

Second, it is the dictatorship of the proletariat, the power of the working class and the masses of laborers, who realize themselves as a unified class and hope to become the sole class in the future.

Third, it is a powerful revolutionary party that constantly struggles against imperialism, which is seen as the highest stage of decadent capitalism. Later, Georgi Dimitrov reinterpreted this relationship, replacing imperialism with fascism and describing capitalist society as a potentially fascist society. Yes, I also believe Dimitrov's definition is not the most appropriate, but now we are talking within the context of Leninism.

Actions based on these ideas shaped the figure and image of Lenin — the most influential figure in modern history and the most famous Russian in the world (now we won't go into the issues of the Udmurts and Jews). Lenin is ours alone; the changes he brought to the world order may be unparalleled. Yes, these changes were tragic and destructive, but they were also unprecedented in their constructive and creative nature. They were built on the foundation of political science. Yes, this political science is not perfect, and the socialism they established was not ideal, even arguably not beautiful. But this does not mean that a better socialism cannot be established.

This is roughly the outline of leftist thought throughout the entire twentieth century in Russia, the essence of Lenin and Leninism. The embalmed corpse is just a pretentious backdrop created by later generations, which need not be taken seriously in political discussions.

Interestingly, all the problems that Lenin tried to solve are still before the international community today, even recognized by part of it. For example, capitalism leading to decaying imperialism, or the humiliating position of the working class. But what is the state of leftist thought in today's public sphere? Usually, those who desperately need to justify their unusual behavior call themselves leftists. They focus on making sure that transgender people, gender-fluid queer activists, and other non-binary individuals are loved and accepted everywhere. Leftist discussions have degenerated into debates over whether it is necessary to provide free sanitary products for gender-neutral users in restrooms.

Why is this the case? Do you remember the last time people realized they were a force against big capital? In September 2011, the "Occupy Wall Street" movement emerged — at that time, people raised a very reasonable question: Why do those parasites in the financial market, who create almost no value, become so rich, while we workers are so poor? This was a serious, class-oriented demand, almost Leninist in nature. At that time, the global Wall Street began to think — would this threaten its prosperity? It was after that, thanks to countless mass media funded by big capital, that discussions on leftist ideas were redirected towards transgender issues, gender transitions, inclusiveness, and other areas of fictitious welfare equality.

Can we consider that the prospect of establishing an equal society has been buried forever? It's hard to say. But burying Lenin is still too early, or perhaps already too late.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7525393801502933543/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author and welcomes your opinion via the [Up/Down] buttons below.