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The quiet atmosphere at one of Moscow’s top tourist attractions, Lenin’s Mausoleum in Red Square, has been disturbed by a deranged man shouting “Rise! Rise!” and trying to revive the preserved body of Lenin, which has laid there since the Russian revolutionary died in 1924.

Tourists and bystanders noticed a strange man ranting incoherently before he produced a bottle of olive oil, Russia Today reported. Police arrested him as he tried to force his way into the mausoleum spraying the oil around.

In custody, the man revealed to police his plan to bring the Russian Communist leader back to life with miraculous olive oil. Doctors diagnosed the man “in need of psychiatric help” – but police just fined him RUB 500 (about AUD 11) for disorderly conduct and let him go.

Russia’s Communist Party is outraged, insisting that vandalism should be punished severely, regardless of the mental state of the perpetrator.

Lenin’s embalmed body has been on public display in the mausoleum since shortly after his death (with rare exceptions in wartime). Some critics allege the body is a wax replica, but authorities insist it is the authentic corpse of Lenin. Embalmers are said to restore it periodically. If a patch of wrinkling or discolouration occurs it is treated with acetic acid diluted with vodka.

The Mausoleum is open every day from 10am to 1pm, except holidays, Mondays and Fridays.

Written by Peter Needham