Introduction

This chapter explores the numerous symbolic meanings and incarnations that Vladimir Ilich Lenin has assumed since his death in 1924. From posthumously becoming the object of a Soviet cult of personality, to being displayed in an embalmed state in the centre of Moscow for more than ninety years, the real historical figure of Lenin has become the site of numerous projections and instrumentalizations. Within the Soviet Union and Russia, ubiquitous symbolic use of Lenin iconography can be linked to Orthodox tradition, whereas the care and dedication with which his body has been preserved (or supplemented with other matter) evokes the treatment of the bodies of kings in European monarchic history. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the continued function of keeping Lenin's body as-if-immortal has been called into question, while Lenin the icon has become symbolic of the spectre of communism, as the iconic image continues to haunt the world both in the form of Lenin statues and busts which can be found in many parts of the globe, as well as in artistic interpretations and more commodified manifestations. This chapter looks at the real as well as artistically mediated fates of some of these Lenin statues as ways of investigating the interaction between icon and shifting cultural and societal landscapes.