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After 8 Months, Lenin's Mausoleum Reopens

The Lenin mausoleum reopened Wednesday after extensive renovations.

The tomb, where Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin's mummified body has laid since 1924, closed for repairs last fall and was supposed to have reopened by the end of 2012.

But the works ended up taking more than eight months, disappointing tourists who had hoped to walk inside the Red Square landmark.

How much longer it will remain open remains unclear.

A debate about the possible burial of Lenin has prompted the Communist Party to threaten mass rallies if his body is moved.

Some 66 percent of Russians support Lenin's burial, according to a 2011 survey by the state-run VTsIOM pollster.

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