Lenin may be buried in a new cemetery

Moscow, Feb 21 (UNI) The body of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin could be buried at a new cemetery, under construction in the Moscow region, 84 years after his death.

The body of former Soviet leader, with its face uncovered, has been on public display in a glass sarcophagus housed in a mausoleum on Red Square since his death in 1924.

However, ever since the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991 his continuing presence in the heart of Moscow has sparked a debate.

Art director and sculptor of the 53-hectare cemetery Sergei Gorayev said the issue has been discussed at the official level but a final decision is yet to be taken, Ria Novosti reported.

Mr Gorayev said the cemetery, to be opened in 2010, may also accommodate other important Russian and Soviet figures.

Demands to transfer the body of the architect of the 1917 Russian Revolution to a regular cemetery have been countered by Russian Communists, who insist that the tomb in Red Square remain the Soviet leader's final resting place.

UNI XC YA DS1237