How & why was Lenin's Mausoleum repeatedly attacked?

The first attack was carried out in 1934 by Mitrofan Nikitin, a worker who had become disillusioned with socialism. He fired two shots at Lenin's body, but missed and when the guards attempted to apprehend him, he shot himself.

Things remained quiet for a long time, but, in the late 1950s, a whole series of attacks began. Stones, ink bottles and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the building and people tried to smash the sarcophagus with their feet and sledgehammers. The damaged glass had to be replaced with stronger glass.

In September 1967, the mausoleum experienced its first terrorist attack. A man named Krysanov from Kaunas, detonated a homemade explosive device at the entrance, killing several people. After this, work began on constructing a new bulletproof sarcophagus, which was installed in 1973.

5 little-known facts about Lenin's Mausoleum

This was done just in time, as a new terrorist attack followed just a few months later. A mentally ill man named Nikolai Savrasov blew himself up next to the sarcophagus. It was unharmed, but two visitors were killed along with the terrorist and 16 people were injured.

In the following years, various acts of minor vandalism were committed against the mausoleum and the leader's body: people spat on it, threw toilet paper rolls and doused it with holy water while shouting "Get up and leave!"

The most recent incidents occurred in 2023. On February 6, a drunken furniture assembler from Moscow attempted to steal Lenin's body. He was unable to explain his motives to the police officers who detained him, after which a psychiatrist was called in. And, on July 17, a resident of Chita threw a Molotov cocktail toward the mausoleum, but it only managed to hit the fence. He was charged with hooliganism.