Volgograd hosts rally on Lenin's birthday and picket for demolition of mausoleum

In the morning of April 22, in Volgograd, at the solemn rally on the occasion of the 143rd birthday of Vladimir Lenin, more than 200 children became members of the Pioneer organization. In the evening, the city hosted a picket to demolish the mausoleum, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The rally, at which the communists have traditionally accepted children to be members of the Pioneer organization, was organized by the Stalingrad Regional Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF), and it began on Lenin Square at 11:00 a.m. More than 200 children, who came from districts of the Volgograd Region, joined the Pioneer organization.

Alevtina Aparina, a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, has expressed her hope that the pioneers will follow "the Lenin's plan to achieve free education and jobs for all people, and they will take care of the older generation."

At 5:00 p.m., near the building of the Central Bank, a picket was held to demolish the mausoleum of Lenin, organized by the regional branch of the "Volya" (Will) Party. The picket sanctioned by the authorities was attended by six persons.

"We would like to bury Lenin, since the mausoleum is an occulted structure. Two million roubles from the budget is spent annually to maintain it," said Galina Lobanova, a representative of the "Volya" Party.

The activists collected signatures for the demolition of the mausoleum. By the end of the picket, 20 signatures were collected.