Return to roots

The debate about the burial of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ((http://www.newsru.com/russia/28sep2005/lenin.html) had just begun to subside), when the President of Kalmykia, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, suddenly gave a new turn to the matter. He declared his readiness to allocate one million dollars to transport the body of the leader of the proletariat along with the mausoleum to the republic. “This is our fellow countryman, and we do not forget our fellow countrymen, we honor our history,” Ilyumzhinov unexpectedly justified his generous offer, recalling that Lenin’s grandmother was a Kalmyk.