MOSCOW
\nDozens of Russian communists gathered in Red Square on Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin\u2019s death, in one of the few official events commemorating the Soviet founder.
\nThe centenary of the Bolshevik revolutionary\u2019s passing has largely been ignored by ordinary Russians, but Lenin continues to be venerated by those nostalgic for the USSR.
\n\u201cI came here to honor the memory of Vladimir Lenin \u2014 our leader, the founder of the Soviet state,\u201d said 47-year-old Yulia, one of many admirers who gathered outside Lenin\u2019s mausoleum in freezing temperatures.
\n\u201cHis ideas lit the way for many revolutionaries, fighters for the bright future of the people, for justice,\u201d she told AFP.
\nAttendees could be seen carrying portraits of the late leader and waving flags of the Russian Communist Party \u2014 one of the few political parties allowed to take part in elections.
\n\u201cHe played a role not only for Russia, but for the whole world,\u201d Nikolai, 73, told AFP.
\n\u201cAfter the revolution, the whole world bourgeoisie was afraid that their workers would also rise up and start a revolution,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cOur country is on the brink,\u201d said 78-year-old pensioner Valentina Alexandrovna.
\n\u201cIt is basically turning into a colony. And only the Leninist doctrine can equip us to fight against this phenomenon,\u201d she said.
\nWhen Lenin died on 21 January 1924, Soviet authorities quickly embalmed his body and built a mausoleum \u2014 a red and black polished stone temple at the heart of Red Square.
\nHuge crowds of people queued to pay their respects to the leader in Soviet times, but today, his embalmed body has largely become a tourist attraction.
\nPresident Vladimir Putin has publicly shunned Lenin for his supposed role in dividing the Russian Empire into nation states like Ukraine, and did not comment on the centenary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW Dozens of Russian communists gathered in Red Square on Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin\u2019s death, in one of the few official events commemorating the Soviet founder. The centenary of the Bolshevik revolutionary\u2019s passing has largely been ignored by ordinary Russians, but Lenin continues to be venerated by those nostalgic for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382473,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-382456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n