Excursions to Leninskie Gorky

At one time, the Leninskie Gorky estate was a revered place where people came on pilgrimages; now, it is a remote corner of Moscow Region. V.I. Lenin, the leader of the world proletariat, from the time of Stalin's rule was a figure that was extolled and endowed with the properties of a cult deity. Now, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) is sinking into oblivion, and sociological surveys show that fewer people are opposed to removing his body from the Mausoleum on Red Square. This wealthy estate near Moscow, appointed by its last owner Zinaida Morozova-Reynbot in keeping with the latest trends in fashion and progress, suited the Bolsheviks’ taste, and after being nationalized the Leader settled here. Besides the main wing, there is an annex of particular interest where, after the fall of the USSR, they brought the interior decorations from Lenin’s apartment in the Kremlin, and a garage with a Tsarist-era Rolls Royce automobile, adapted to the needs of the workers’ leader and equipped with skis for winter driving.  

Lenin, seriously wounded and trying for years to overcome a subsequent disease, spent his last few years right in Leninskie Gorky. A dramatic struggle for power among his associates unfolded here as they anticipated his passing. A visit to Leninskie Gorky with a professional tour guide means learning about an important part of Russia’s history and one man’s personal story.