… I, as a corporate person, will never argue with the officially declared position of the Church.

Russian president for the first time publicly backed preserving the Mausoleum on Red Square. Putin told a meeting with celebrities who campaigned for him in the March 2012 presidential election: «After all, what happened after the fall of the Soviet Union and its prevailing ideology? We did not gain anything new in its place. Incidentally, and although perhaps our left-leaning colleagues may argue with me, even the communist ideology took its main principles from the world religions.

What was the Communism Supporter Code about? It declared the same principles as the Bible or the Koran — do not steal, do not kill, do not covet your neighbour’s wife. It is written in and borrowed from those texts.

Many people argue about the Lenin’s Tomb, saying that it does not follow tradition. What does not follow tradition? Just visit Kiev Pechersk Lavra or go to Pskov Monastery, or Mount Athos. You will see hallows of holy people there. Go ahead, you can see it all there. Therefore, the communists continued the tradition even in that respect and did it competently, in accordance with the demands of those times.»

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[Kuraev:]

The cult of Lenin, first of all, was imposed on the Russian people by the Bolshevik Party. Immediately after the death his ashes was not buried. A special institution was established where a series of manipulations was performed in order to preserve the corpse of the leader. What does it mean «the communists continued the tradition even in that respect and did it competently»? Embalmed competently? It is unlikely that we can agree with this. Satan is the ape of God. Communists have played the ape rather than continue the tradition. The only purpose of this institution is to monitor the state of the corpse of Lenin. The institution is generously funded from the federal budget. This «tradition» has nothing to do with Orthodoxy.

We deem it impossible to ascribe to the Russian President a "comparison" between the Saints of the Kievan Caves and Lenin.