Nation deed — participation of soviet citizens in the construction of the mausoleum of V. I. Lenin

In the article the author researches the national participation in the creation and building of the mausoleum. She explores letters written by workers with the request to preserve Lenin's body and don’t bury him. Moreover, she engages competitive projects of mausoleum created by citizens, and memoirs of construction participants. The article is devoted to the role of the «little» man in global political events and the formation of an ideological cult. Objective of the research is to explore the participation of Soviet citizens in commemorative events dedicated to V. I. Lenin. The research materials used were archival documents from the RGASPI foundation, periodical press materials, published reports and memoirs of participants, as well as research documents of the history and existence of the mausoleum. Results. For the first time, the article analyzes amateur architectural projects sent by workers to a competition for the construction of a mausoleum. Many of them are similar and have the same images-symbols, subconsciously borrowed by the authors from propaganda rhetoric. Memoirs and documents revealing the «national» participation in construction are given, unpublished archival documents are introduced into scientific circulation.