Calls for Lenin’s burial on anniversary of Revolution

‘‘It would be logical and realistic to restore the historical view of the Kremlin and Red Square by restoring symbols of Russian statehood and removing the mummy of the militant theomachist Ulyanov (Lenin’s real name),’’ the statement emphasized.

Thousands of people converged on central Moscow, rallying at familiar landmarks like the Linin statue and the Karl Marx statue, to celebrate the anniversary. Some marchers carried black banners saying ‘‘Down with Putin!’’ and ‘‘Putin resign!’’ Over one hundred veterans of the Great Patriotic War, who had participated in the historic parade in Red Square on November 7, 1941, took part in the festivities dedicated to the anniversary of the event. They laid wreaths at the tomb of Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall and at Lenin’s mausoleum, and paraded in full military uniform at Red Square, accompanied by army orchestra. Meanwhile, the Russian Orthodox Church has opposed any haste to bury Lenin’s body, as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II has repeatedly said.

‘‘This issue should be approached with caution so as not to aggravate the divide in society,’’ he said. The patriarch said that the cemetery and merry-making, in reference to entertainment on Red Square, are incompatible.

‘‘I oppose rock and roll on Red Square. One should respect the memory of those who lived before us, but we are wont to dance on bones,’’ Alexy II said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also ruled out the removal of the Lenin’s body from his Red Square mausoleum, saying ‘‘I am against that.’’

The anniversary of the Revolution was renamed as Reconciliation and Accord Day after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.