Sociologists report that a majority of Russians still wish to retain the Lenin Mausoleum on Red Square, and many are opposed to the reburial of Lenin. However, compared with previous years, the number opposing reburial is dropping. In 2000, 82 percent of those questioned wished the mausoleum to remain in place, and 44 percent opposed the reburial of Lenin’s body. In 2008, according to a report released by the Levada Centre to Interfax, these figures dropped to 64 percent and 34 percent respectively. In an interesting development, 8 percent of respondents (compared to 6 percent in 2000) wish to see the mausoleum transferred to another site, and 12 percent (compared to 6 percent in 2000) desired to see the mausoleum razed to the ground.
34 percent of the survey sample (compared to 44 percent in 2000) wished to see Lenin’s body remain in the mausoleum. There was a drop in the number of those who wished to see Lenin’s body reburied in the Volkov Cemetery in St Petersburg (34 percent in 2000, 31 percent in 2008) and in those who would prefer that Lenin’s remains be entombed in the Kremlin Wall (21 percent in 2000, 16 percent in 2008). The results of this survey carried out in January with a sample of 1,600 people confirm that Lenin is still viewed positively in some sectors of the population. 42 percent of the respondents feel that Lenin’s ideas still have validity, and 19 percent believe that Lenin was a positive force in Russian history. 44 percent of those polled think that Lenin was a negative force in the history of Russia, saying such things as, “He led our country on a false path that resulted in much misfortune and misery”, “He made mistakes in his expectations of the revolution and communism”, and “He was a cruel person who attempted to transform the country by using violence”.
23 January 2008
Interfax-Religion
www.interfax.ru
