Dead Communists

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When I was in high school I went on a class trip to Moscow and was impressed with Lenin's tomb. The soviets had worked very hard to preserve Lenin's corpse, inventing a whole new technology for the purpose, later used on both Mao and Ho Chi Minh. The once-secret 15 member Mausoleum Group still tends to the body.

In 1988 I embarked on my Three Dead Communists trip and visited the tombs of Lenin, the "Great Helmsman" Chairman Mao, and "Uncle" Ho Chi Minh. I also visited some lesser known tombs. My photos from Beijing were unfortunately lost by Kodak.

Red Square and Lenin's tomb, April 1971 (L) and December 1989 (R).

The "Great Helmsman" Chairman Mao (this is not his tomb).

"Uncle" Ho Chi Minh's tomb, July 1989.

This is as close as I got to "Great Leader" Kim Il Sung.

The mausoleum Çeausescu built for himself, and the simple grave he ended up in.

Giorgi Dimitrov's Mausoleum was built in six days but took over a week to demolish in 1999 even with high explosives.

Çeausescu's and Hoxha's houses.

Leon Trotsky's grave.

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