The Embalming of Lenin: A Semiotic Analysis of a Cumbersome Corpse

The aim of this paper is to discuss the ways in which the embalming of Lenin has fostered an experience of the sacred. This investigation serves a dual purpose: first, it aims to elucidate how the scientific management of Lenin’s body could signify the “sacrality” embedded within the political ideology of the party itself, namely Leninism; second, it seeks to clarify the mechanisms that regulate visibility relations among social actors, which may be interpreted as figurativizations of more abstract organization associated with the dissemination of knowledge among individuals (Landowski 1989, p.115, it. transl.). In addition, this paper introduces a theoretical framework largely based on René Girard’s reflection on the scapegoat (Girard 1972) in order to demonstrate the relevance of this case to the study of secular models of martyrdom. The case of Lenin’s body fosters a model of martyrdom that characterizes the Soviet “pantheon of heroes”, primarily because of its emphasis on penitential practices, which constitute the background for self–knowledge in Western Christianity.