Lenin's Birthday Celebrated In Russia

Lenin seen speaking to a crowd in an undated picture (RFE/RL) April 22, 2007 -- Some 2,000 Russians gathered in front of Lenin's mausoleum on Moscow's Red Square today to mark the 137th anniversary of his birth.

NTV television showed children, elderly people, and a handful of Communist Party deputies lining up to pay homage to the Bolshevik leader.

Meanwhile, a 5-meter-tall monument to Lenin was unveiled in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad today after being removed for renovation in 2004.

Kaliningrad Mayor Yury Savenko said, "Lenin is our history. It's impossible to fight history."

(AFP, ITAR-TASS)