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Lenin's Mausoleum: A somber attraction in Red Square.

Visiting the various sights in historic Red Square can really hit you in the wallet, but here's an attraction that's still free: the mausoleum holding the embalmed body of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.


The mausoleum once had an almost religious pull for citizens of the officially atheistic Soviet Union, with people waiting long hours just to get a glimpse of Lenin and perhaps leave a flower.


In today's Russia, it's a less somber atmosphere along the walls of the Kremlin. There's even talk of closing the mausoleum to visitors, so if you want to see the preserved body of the man who set the historical trajectory for much of the 20th century, act quickly. Hours are limited; plan your schedule well. And you can't take cameras or bags inside.