In 2024, which marks the 100th centenary of the death of the founder of the USSR,

the Kremlin rejected plans to remove Vladimir Lenin from the mausoleum under the pretext that the question is not currently on the agenda. Disputes over the reburial of the world proletariat leader have been going on for more than a decade. They began right after the collapse of the Union and continue to this day according to the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.
In October 2005, the first President of Kalmykia, sixth President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said at a press conference at the central office of Interfax in Moscow:
“I officially announced to the leader of the Russian Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov that if the question of the reburial of Lenin's body comes up, we are ready to allocate one million dollars to move the body and Mausoleum to Elista. He was our fellow countryman, and we do not forget them, we honour our history,” Ilyumzhinov noted. He told a curious detail related to the history of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century: "As it turned out, two of my fellow countrymen - Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), whose grandmother was a Kalmyk, and the commander-in-chief of the White Army, Lavr Kornilov, whose father was also a Kalmyk were enemies…" 

“War and the large military establishments are the greatest sources of violence in the world. Whether their purpose is defensive or offensive, these vast powerful organizations exist solely to kill human beings. We should think carefully about the reality of war. Most of us have been conditioned to regard military combat as exciting and glamorous - an opportunity for men to prove their competence and courage. Since armies are legal, we feel that war is acceptable; in general, nobody feels that war is criminal or that accepting it is criminal attitude. In fact, we have been brainwashed. War is neither glamorous nor attractive. It is monstrous. Its very nature is one of tragedy and suffering.

War is like a fire in the human community, one whose fuel is living beings. I find this analogy especially appropriate and useful. Modern warfare waged primarily with different forms of fire, but we are so conditioned to see it as thrilling that we talk about this or that marvellous weapon as a remarkable piece of technology without remembering that, if it is actually used, it will burn living people. War also strongly resembles a fire in the way it spreads. If one area gets weak, the commanding officer sends in reinforcements. This is throwing live people onto a fire. But because we have been brainwashed to think this way, we do not consider the suffering of individual soldiers. No soldiers want to be wounded or die. None of his loved ones wants any harm to come to him. If one soldier is killed, or maimed for life, at least another five or ten people - his relatives and friends - suffer as well. We should all be horrified by the extent of this tragedy, but we are too confused.

More than 50 Nobel laureates have signed an open letter calling for all countries to cut their military spending by 2% a year over the next five years, the Guardian writes. Half of the saved money is proposed to be put in a UN fund to fight pandemics, the climate crisis and extreme poverty.

I welcome the initiative of the Nobel laureates. The problem is more than urgent. In 1994, when I was still President of Kalmykia, I addressed the United Nations in New York. I suggested that every country - from Argentina and Angola to Jamaica and Japan - would sign an agreement on ending production of weapons, and all the money saved to be spent on production of medicines. It seems to me that after that the world would have changed.
I suggested this to the Nobel Prize winners as well. The main thing, in my opinion, is that not only presidents, kings and prime ministers, but also spiritual leaders and leading scientists take part in this meeting. I think the majority would agree to prioritize a person and his Right to Life.

His Holiness noted that many outstanding Buddhist teachers come from Russia. The role of Russia in the future world is very important. Interest in the teachings of the Buddha is reviving in Russia’s traditionally Buddhist regions. This was stated by the 14th Dalai Lama at an online exercise for the Russians.

- Geographically, Russia is very important. This part of the world is very important. Traditionally, several Russian republics and regions are Buddhist - their population practices Buddhism. Many outstanding Buddhist teachers come from these republics, - he told RIA Novosti.
Currently, according to him, in the Russian Buddhist regions there is "a new interest in the teachings of the Buddha."
“The most important thing now is education: it is necessary to study Buddhism,” the Dalai Lama urged.
He added that in many regions of Russia, Buddhism is "part of the traditional religious culture of the ancestors."
“It is very important that you preserve the cultural wealth of your ancestors,” the Dalai Lama addressed the Russians.
According to him, Buddhist logic, philosophy and academic knowledge make it possible to deeper cognize noble truths and get rid of ignorance and egoism. Buddhist practices also develop love and compassion. All this allows people to eliminate sadness, anger and reduce suffering. And modern Western science such as quantum physics, reveals more and more parallels with Buddhist teachings.

Friday brought unexpected news: Dmitry Muratov, a long-time editor of Novaya Gazeta, became a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Together with him, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa received the award.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded since 1901. During this time, 98 awards were presented. Last year, in 2020, the prize went to the humanitarian organization World Food Programme, which combat hunger in conflict-affected areas of the world.
In 2009, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, became the winner. He was awarded for his outstanding efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation among peoples.
In 2007, the Peace Prize went to former US presidential candidate Al Gore for efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.
In 1993, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Peace Prize for his work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.

 

Twenty-eight years ago, on October 4, 1993, Boris Yeltsin decided to storm the House of Soviets. Then the order was given to use tanks and armoured vehicles.

No doubt, there were politicians who were out for blood. There were enough of them on both sides of the barricades. But for many others and for me the question was simple: what can be done to prevent carnage. Violent conflict, I still think so, was a very bad idea. In peacetime, people should not die for political reasons.
“One just need to do everything to stop the carnage. At the end of the 20th century, it is unacceptable to solve political problems with tanks and helicopters,” I thought then. I think so now.
In September 1993, when it became clear that the conflict between the president and the Supreme Council was becoming irreversible, on the initiative of several politicians - Ramazan Abdulatipov, Anatoly Sobchak and mine - the Council of Federation Subjects, the prototype of the current Federation Council, was created.
Many regional leaders and chairmen of legislative assemblies, who were against the tough conflict, entered this body. Me and chairman of the Leningrad Oblast Council Vadim Gustov were elected co-chairs. We gathered in the office of the Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin and drew up an appeal to the warring parties. It was signed by 68 people.

40 years ago, a mass grave of victims of the Great Terror of 1937-1938 was accidentally discovered at the Achinsk airport near Krasnoyarsk. In the late 1980s, with the help of Memorial Society volunteers at least six mass graves were found, where people who were allegedly shot were buried.

The Volga Germans, Balts, Kalmyks were exiled there. Once Kalmyks were brought to a manganese mine located not far from the city, they were placed in an open field, fenced with wire, where there was nothing, only a warders’ booth. They all were in dressing gowns and slippers in the 40-degree frost. Then warders took pity on them and drove them into the club of the manganese mine.

76 years ago, the United States dropped two atomic bombs codenamed "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The explosions destroyed most of these cities, and the exact death toll is unknown: on average, it is believed that there are at least 200 thousand. Even more people were injured and left homeless.

After bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States rejoiced: newspapers were full of headlines about "bomb-torn Japs" and "rain of destruction"; people rejoiced in revenge for Pearl Harbour. “I never doubted that their [bombs] use was my duty,” US President Harry Truman said later. The head of state also noted that "this is the greatest thing in history" and asked the military who participated in the bombing not to feel guilty.

 

Nobel laureates warned of the destruction of the Earth's ecosystem and the risks of new pandemics. More than thirty laureates, including the 14th Dalai Lama, issued an urgent call to action after Our Planet, Our Future summit in Washington.

Humanity is faced with new challenges on an unprecedented scale that threaten the sustainability of the Earth's biosphere. The next decade is critical. We must halve global greenhouse gas emissions and reverse the destruction of nature.
“We have never had to deal with problems of the scale facing today’s globally interconnected society. No one knows for sure what will work, so it is important to build a system that can evolve and adapt rapidly”, said Elinor Ostrom (Nobel Laureate 2009).

By the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Police Colonel Ivan Vanchugov was appointed head of the Bryansk Region Directorate of the Federal Service of the National Guard of Russia. Previously, he was the deputy head of the Rosgvardia department for the Republic of Buryatia.

Ivan Vanchugov served in the training communications battalion in Rostov-on-Don of the Red Banner North Caucasian Military District from 1989 to 1991. The training centre coached encryption specialists for the USSR Ministry of Defence. Among the colleagues of Ivan Vanchugov was Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

 “The training centre provided a very intensive, high-quality training,” the colonel says according to the internet sources.

Editor’s note: The army service of the first President of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was held in the training communications battalion of the North Caucasus Military District in Rostov-on-Don. On May 25, 1993, the Red Star newspaper wrote that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited his native unit during the 75th anniversary of the North Caucasian Military District. And on May 23, 1993 in Elista, the President of Kalmykia handed over to the commander of the training communications battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Anatoly Luzhnevsky, ten million roubles from his personal savings.

remember Lenin
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