Russia has no money for new suit for Lenin

The ongoing economic crisis has already had an effect on everyone in Russia, from oligarchs to humble office workers, and now even Vladimir Lenin in his Red Square mausoleum has felt the pinch.

On the eve of the 139th anniversary of the birth of the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, financial difficulties mean that Lenin will be forced to continue wearing an old suit for the sixth straight year.

Lenin's embalmed body has been on public display in a glass case in the mausoleum since his death following a series of strokes in 1924.

Yesterday saw the reopening of the mausoleum to the public after two months of maintenance work, during which Lenin's corpse was bathed in special preserving fluids.

"This is a unique technology," Yury Denisov-Nikolski, the vice-director of the scientific research institute that carried out the work, told the paper. "Thanks to it, Lenin will be able to lie here for another hundred years."

However, the expert also bemoaned the lack of government funding for the mausoleum.

"The state hasn't allocated a single kopek since 1992. Everything is held together by the Lenin Mausoleum foundation and donors," he said. "On top of this, the crisis has struck hard. How can we change his suit in these economic conditions?"

Lenin's suits are traditionally ordered from Switzerland and made of the finest materials. A new one is usually purchased every three years.