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Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution
Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution

© the copyright holder. Image credit: Islington Local History Centre and Museum

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Notes

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This was the centrepiece of a monument erected in 1942 by Finsbury Council. Designed by the Russian architect Berthold Lubetkin, the bust came from the Soviet Embassy. The monument stood in Holford Square, Islington, looking towards number 30 where Lenin had lived from 1902 to 1903 while working on his revolutionary newspaper 'Iskra' ('The Spark'). He shared the office of a socialist publisher, which is now the Marx Memorial Library. When Russia became Britain's ally in the Second World War, socialist Finsbury Council planned the monument as a sign of friendship. Some thought Communism should not be celebrated and it was vandalised. Moved into storage in 1951 and eventually displayed at Islington Town Hall in the 1970s, it was vandalised twice more with red paint thrown over it.

Islington Museum

London

Title

Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Leader of the 1917 Russian Communist Revolution

Date

1942

Medium

painted concrete & wood

Measurements

H 60 x W 40 x D 36 cm

Accession number

1996.2

Acquisition method

transferred from Finsbury Borough Council to Islington Museum, 1996

Work type

Bust

Signature/marks description

on reverse of collar: R. Kow -37

Inscription description

on reverse of collar: 19-C Mor (?)

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Normally on display at

Islington Museum

245 St John Street, London, Greater London EC1V 4NB England

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