statue of Lenin|

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was better known by his alias, Lenin. This word alone encases the struggle, the ideal, the revolution and perhaps the biggest cult of personality the world has ever seen. His face is an icon that has been used (and still is, in some cases) on coins, flags, pins, lighters, t-shirts, bottle openers... After a century from his death, his real body is still present and visible - under formaldehyde - in Moscow (Russia) where it gets embalmed year after year. For those who cannot visit him in person, several statues portraying a bold, farsighted Lenin have been erected (and some eventually dismantled) all over the world. But what made Lenin so popular? Was the incarnation of a cause or his jaunty, snarky, irresistible moustache?