INT. GORKI ESTATE – LENIN’S BEDROOM – NIGHT – JANUARY 21,
Darkness.
A coal stove glows faintly in the corner.
Snow presses softly against tall windows. Wind hums low and
distant.
On the bed lies VLADIMIR ILYICH LENIN, 53. Still. Pale.
Waxen.
A bedside clock ticks with exaggerated clarity.
Two PHYSICIANS stand beside him. One of them, DR. ABRIKOSOV,
removes his spectacles, listens for breath that does not
come.
He checks the pulse.
Nothing.
A long silence.
ABRIKOSOV
(quietly)
It is finished.
The other physician nods once.
No one weeps.
Outside, faintly — a HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE passes over packed
snow.
Abrikosov gently closes Lenin’s eyelids.
For a moment, he studies the face.
Already — a faint darkening beneath the lips.
He notices.
Says nothing.
EXT. GORKI ESTATE – NIGHT
Snow falls steadily.
A courier exits the estate, climbs into a waiting vehicle.
Headlights flare in the dark.
The car disappears toward Moscow.
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE OFFICE – NIGHT
A telegram is opened.
Hands tremble — but only slightly.
A SENIOR PARTY OFFICIAL reads in silence.
He looks up.
Across the room sit two other MEMBERS OF THE POLITBURO.
No one speaks at first.
Finally—
OFFICIAL
We must prepare for viewing.
A beat.
ANOTHER OFFICIAL
For how long?
Silence again.
No answer.
INT. GORKI ESTATE – BEDROOM – LATER
The body has been covered to the chest with a white sheet.
Candles now burn around the room.
Abrikosov carefully examines Lenin’s hands.
He presses gently against the fingertips.
A faint discoloration.
He looks to an assistant.
ABRIKOSOV
Bring me alcohol.
The assistant moves quickly.
Abrikosov begins wiping the hands with measured precision.
He pauses.
Touches the skin again.
It does not respond.
He stares longer than necessary.
Something unsettles him.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
2 -
The Summons
INT. MOSCOW APARTMENT – NIGHT
A modest flat.
Books stacked carefully. Medical journals. Glass instruments
wrapped in cloth.
At a table sits BORIS ZBARSKY, 35. Thoughtful. Reserved.
Across from him, his teenage son, ILYA ZBARSKY, 19, studies
chemistry notes.
A knock at the door.
Sharp. Official.
Boris looks up.
Another knock.
ILYA
Who would—
Boris raises a hand. Silence.
He rises, walks to the door, opens it.
Two UNIFORMED MEN stand there.
UNIFORMED MAN
Professor Zbarsky?
Boris nods cautiously.
UNIFORMED MAN (CONT’D)
You are requested at the Kremlin.
Immediately.
A beat.
Boris glances back at Ilya.
Something has shifted in the air.
BORIS
May I ask—
UNIFORMED MAN
No.
A long silence.
Boris retrieves his coat.
ILYA
Father… what is it?
Boris does not answer directly.
BORIS
Stay here. Lock the door behind me.
He exits with the men.
Ilya stands alone.
The ticking of a wall clock echoes louder now.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
3 -
The Weight of Preservation
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Boris is escorted down a long stone hallway.
Footsteps echo.
He passes portraits of revolutionary leaders.
Their eyes seem to follow him.
He is led toward a closed door.
One of the guards opens it.
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CHAMBER – CONTINUOUS
Dimly lit.
Several senior officials stand in silence.
On a table lies a document.
Boris notices their expressions first.
Not grief.
Calculation.
OFFICIAL
Professor Zbarsky.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Comrade Lenin has died.
Boris absorbs it.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
We require your expertise.
Boris hesitates.
BORIS
For autopsy?
The men exchange looks.
OFFICIAL
No.
A long pause.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
For preservation.
Silence fills the room.
Boris does not immediately understand.
BORIS
Temporary preservation?
Another pause.
OFFICIAL
We are not yet certain.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
How long can a body remain suitable
for public viewing?
The question lingers in the air.
Boris considers it carefully.
BORIS
Without intervention…
days.
The officials exchange quiet concern.
OFFICIAL
And with intervention?
Boris hesitates.
This is no longer medical.
This is political.
BORIS
Weeks.
The Official steps closer.
OFFICIAL
Weeks will not suffice.
A long silence.
Boris understands now.
They are not asking about mourning.
They are asking about permanence.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Can he be made… enduring?
The word hangs heavy.
Boris does not answer.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
4 -
A Somber Farewell
INT. GORKI ESTATE – BEDROOM – DAWN
Morning light creeps across Lenin’s still face.
A faint discoloration spreads at the temples.
Abrikosov watches closely.
He touches the skin again.
Already cooler.
Outside, distant CHURCH BELLS begin to ring across Moscow.
CUT TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY – JANUARY 27, 1924
A brutal cold.
A temporary WOODEN STRUCTURE stands against the Kremlin wall
— stark, geometric, hurriedly built.
Smoke from breath hangs in the air.
A line of CITIZENS stretches far beyond the square.
Workers. Soldiers. Women clutching scarves. Young pioneers.
No shouting.
Just silence and the sound of boots on frozen stone.
Honor guards are placed stragically.
INT. TEMPORARY WOODEN TOMB – CONTINUOUS
The interior is spare.
Dim light filters through frosted glass panels.
Lenin lies in a simple coffin.
His face pale but composed.
Boris Zbarsky stands nearby with ABRIKOSOV.
They watch the first mourners pass.
A woman stops.
Stares.
Whispers a prayer — though quietly, almost guiltily.
She moves on.
Another mourner crosses himself discreetly.
A Party GUARD notices.
Says nothing.
ABRIKOSOV
We stabilized him for now.
BORIS
For how long?
Abrikosov avoids the question.
ABRIKOSOV
The cold is helping.
Boris studies Lenin’s face.
A faint dryness along the lips.
BORIS
Cold does not stop time.
Abrikosov glances toward the Politburo officials observing
from the shadows.
ABRIKOSOV
Time is no longer the priority.
EXT. RED SQUARE – LATER
The line has doubled.
A junior Party AIDE rushes toward a SENIOR OFFICIAL.
AIDE
One hundred thousand already.
And it is only the first week.
The Official watches the endless line.
Calculating.
OFFICIAL
How long can the viewing continue?
AIDE
The doctors say—
OFFICIAL
No. Not the doctors.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The people.
Genres:
["Historical","Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
5 -
The Weight of Legacy
INT. TEMPORARY TOMB – NIGHT
The doors are closed.
Guards remain posted.
Boris examines the body more closely now.
He presses gently at the jawline.
A slight stiffening.
He removes a small instrument from his case.
Makes a discreet incision behind the ear.
Abrikosov watches.
ABRIKOSOV
You intend to attempt vascular
infusion?
BORIS
If the viewing continues, we have
no choice.
ABRIKOSOV
It was not meant to continue.
Boris pauses.
BORIS
Nothing about this was meant to.
They work in silence.
A faint sound of wind against wood.
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CHAMBER – NIGHT
The Politburo gathers.
Maps of Red Square spread across a table.
Architectural sketches of larger structures.
OFFICIAL
The people do not disperse.
Another Official:
OFFICIAL #2
If we close the tomb, it will
appear weakness.
OFFICIAL #3
He belongs to history.
A beat.
OFFICIAL
No.
He looks toward the window.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
He belongs to the future.
Silence.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
6 -
Heavy Silence
INT. MOSCOW APARTMENT – NIGHT
Ilya sits alone at the table.
Books open but unread.
He hears footsteps in the hallway.
The door opens.
Boris enters.
Exhausted.
ILYA
How long?
Boris removes his coat slowly.
BORIS
Longer than they first said.
A beat.
ILYA
And after that?
Boris studies his son carefully.
BORIS
They are considering stone.
The word lands.
ILYA
Stone?
BORIS
A permanent structure.
Ilya absorbs it.
ILYA
Then they are not preserving him.
A beat.
BORIS
No.
ILYA
They are preserving something else.
Boris says nothing.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
7 -
The Weight of Mortality
INT. TEMPORARY TOMB – LATE NIGHT
Boris alone now.
He gently lifts Lenin’s hand.
Examines subtle discoloration.
He places the hand back carefully.
Almost respectfully.
He whispers, not as devotion — but as scientific observation.
BORIS
We are not gods.
A long silence.
He looks toward the wooden walls.
Snow creaks outside.
BORIS (CONT’D)
But they would have us pretend.
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAWN
Workers begin measuring the perimeter.
Architectural drafts rolled open.
The wooden tomb is already being studied for replication.
Larger.
Heavier.
Enduring.
SUPER: MAY 1924
INT. TEMPORARY WOODEN TOMB – CONTINUOUS
The doors seal with a heavy thud.
Outside, the murmur of the crowd shifts — confusion,
impatience.
Inside, only the low hum of wind through wood.
Boris leans closer to Lenin’s temple.
The green bloom is faint — but spreading.
ABRIKOSOV
We can conceal it for today.
BORIS
For today.
A beat.
ABRIKOSOV
We must reduce moisture inside the
structure.
BORIS
This structure is wood.
He looks around the walls.
BORIS (CONT’D)
Wood breathes. Wood sweats.
He straightens.
BORIS (CONT’D)
He will not survive summer.
That lands.
A Party OFFICIAL, who has been observing from the corner,
steps forward.
OFFICIAL
Survival is not optional.
Silence.
BORIS
Biology does not respond to orders.
The Official steps closer.
OFFICIAL
History does.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
You will prevent further
deterioration.
BORIS
That requires invasive procedure.
OFFICIAL
Do what is required.
Boris studies him.
BORIS
There are limits.
OFFICIAL
There are expectations.
Silence.
The ideological line has been drawn.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
8 -
The Weight of Permanence
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – NIGHT
A small kitchen lamp glows.
Anna sets down a bowl of soup.
Boris sits, exhausted.
His hands tremble slightly as he removes his gloves.
ILYA watches from the table.
ANNA
You did not eat again.
BORIS
There was no time.
ANNA
There is always time to eat.
A beat.
She notices his expression.
ANNA (CONT’D)
What is it?
Boris hesitates.
BORIS
They want permanence.
Anna absorbs that.
ANNA
For how long?
BORIS
They did not say.
ANNA
Then it is forever.
Silence.
ILYA
If it is possible, shouldn’t it be
done?
Boris looks at his son.
BORIS
Possible and wise are not the same.
ILYA
He changed the world.
ANNA
And now you will change him?
That hangs.
Boris looks down at his hands.
ANNA (CONT’D)
He has a mother buried in Simbirsk.
A quiet but powerful reminder.
ANNA (CONT’D)
Mothers do not keep their sons in
glass.
Boris cannot meet her eyes.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
9 -
The Ethical Injection
INT. TEMPORARY TOMB – DAYS LATER
The viewing continues.
The crowd larger than before.
Architectural drawings now spread across a side table —
sketches for a stone structure.
Shchusev’s early geometric outlines.
Boris works with a tray of instruments.
He prepares a syringe.
Ilya now stands beside him — assisting.
BORIS
Carefully.
Ilya hands him gauze.
Their movements are precise, almost ritualistic.
BORIS (CONT’D)
We must circulate the solution
through the arterial system.
ILYA
Will it work?
BORIS
It may slow what cannot be stopped.
Ilya looks at Lenin’s face.
ILYA
If we succeed… no one has done this
before.
BORIS
No one has been asked to.
He inserts the needle.
Clear fluid enters.
The first true crossing of the ethical threshold.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
10 -
Anatomy of Power
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE MEETING – NIGHT
Officials review crowd numbers.
Charts.
Reports.
OFFICIAL #2
One hundred thousand in six weeks.
OFFICIAL #3
If we bury him, it will appear
retreat.
OFFICIAL
Then we do not bury him.
Silence.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
We build in stone.
He slides the architectural sketch forward.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
And we instruct the scientists
accordingly.
INT. TEMPORARY TOMB – LATE NIGHT
The public gone.
The lights low.
Boris and Ilya observe the body.
The discoloration has receded slightly.
The skin appears almost luminous under lamplight.
ILYA
It is working.
Boris watches carefully.
BORIS
For now.
ILYA
You see? It can be done.
Boris studies his son.
BORIS
That is what frightens me.
Silence.
Outside, hammers strike wood.
Workers preparing for expansion.
The revolution is no longer political.
It is anatomical.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
11 -
The Weight of Honor
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – NIGHT
Anna dries dishes slowly, listening.
Boris sits at the table with a notebook open. Chemical
ratios. Observations. Dates.
Ilya watches his father write as if it were scripture.
ANNA
They send guards for you now.
Boris doesn’t look up.
BORIS
They send guards for him.
Anna stops drying. Holds a plate in midair.
ANNA
No, Boris.
She sets the plate down carefully.
ANNA (CONT’D)
They send guards because you are
now part of it.
A long beat.
ILYA
Mother—
ANNA
No.
She looks at her son gently but firmly.
ANNA (CONT’D)
You think this is honor.
Honor is choosing what is right
when no one is watching.
Ilya absorbs that.
Boris finally looks up.
BORIS
The mold returned today.
Anna’s face tightens.
ANNA
On him?
Boris nods.
BORIS
On the walls. On the cloth.
It will keep returning.
ANNA
Then stop.
Silence.
BORIS
We cannot stop.
ANNA
You can.
Boris’s eyes harden, not with anger — with resignation.
BORIS
If I refuse, someone else will do
it.
Someone less careful.
Anna hears the truth in that and hates it.
ANNA
So you will be the best jailer.
That lands.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
12 -
Grief and Protocol
INT. TEMPORARY WOODEN TOMB – DAY
The line of mourners is now a phenomenon.
It snakes beyond Red Square. Around corners. Out of sight.
Young Pioneers stand in disciplined silence.
A WOMAN collapses in the line. Others lift her up. No one
leaves.
Inside, Lenin’s face is lit carefully. The illusion of rest.
The illusion of permanence.
Boris watches from the side with Ilya.
A Party OFFICIAL approaches, low voice, almost courteous.
OFFICIAL
Comrade Zbarsky.
The people are… grateful.
BORIS
They are grieving.
OFFICIAL
Grief is a force.
He studies Lenin’s face.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
We must not squander it.
Boris understands. Says nothing.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
We will require a report.
A schedule. A protocol.
BORIS
A protocol for what?
The official answers calmly, as if discussing maintenance of
a building.
OFFICIAL
For continued presentation.
BORIS
Continued?
The official looks at him—unblinking.
OFFICIAL
Indefinite.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
13 -
Preservation and Purpose
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – NIGHT
Boris lays out instruments on a cloth. Ilya assists—more
confident now.
Anna watches from the doorway.
ANNA
What did they say?
Boris speaks without looking up.
BORIS
Indefinite.
Anna steps into the room slowly.
ANNA
That is not a word a doctor should
hear.
Ilya tries to lighten it—naive.
ILYA
It means we have time to perfect
it.
Anna’s gaze cuts to him.
ANNA
Perfect what?
Ilya falters.
Anna looks to Boris.
ANNA (CONT’D)
You will spend your life preserving
a dead man so the living can
pretend he never left.
Boris finally looks at her.
BORIS
We do not pretend.
We maintain.
ANNA
That is pretending with chemicals.
Boris has no reply.
INT. KREMLIN – ARCHITECT’S OFFICE – DAY
ALEXEY SHCHUSEV, elegant, focused, reviews sketches.
The geometry echoes ancient tombs—stepped forms, heavy
symmetry.
A committee sits opposite.
OFFICIAL
It must allow viewing.
It must allow procession. And it
must allow leaders to stand above
it.
Shchusev’s pencil pauses.
SHCHUSEV
Above it?
OFFICIAL
A tribune. For parades.
Shchusev nods slowly.
He understands the structure is not a tomb.
It is a stage.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
14 -
Ritual of Preservation
INT. TEMPORARY TOMB – NIGHT
Closed to the public.
Boris and Ilya work.
A basin of clear solution. Glycerol mixture. Potassium
acetate measured carefully.
Boris’s hands are steady now.
Ilya watches with a reverence that unsettles Anna’s earlier
words.
BORIS
If discoloration appears—
acetic acid and diluted alcohol.
ILYA
And if damp spots?
BORIS
Disinfectant.
Quinine. Phenol. Carefully.
Ilya writes everything down.
ILYA
Like a manual.
Boris doesn’t look up.
BORIS
Like a ritual.
A beat.
Ilya looks at Lenin’s face.
ILYA
Do you think he would have wanted
this?
Boris’s hand stops.
He stares at the body.
BORIS
We are not asked what he wanted.
A beat.
BORIS (CONT’D)
We are asked what they want.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
15 -
The Weight of Duty
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CHAMBER – DAY
A long table. Papers. Ink. Seals.
The same calm terror as a board meeting.
Boris sits at one end, uncomfortable. Vorobiev is
introduced—quiet, competent, medical.
An OFFICIAL reads from a prepared statement.
OFFICIAL
The Central Executive Committee has
considered the question of Comrade
Lenin’s remains.
Boris’s eyes flick to the paper. No emotion on the Official’s
face.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The will of the people is clear.
The Party’s duty is clear.
He pauses—not for drama, but for emphasis.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Comrade Lenin’s body will be
preserved and made available for
public viewing.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Indefinitely.
Boris swallows. The word again. Final.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
You will ensure this is achieved.
Boris speaks carefully.
BORIS
If the body deteriorates—
OFFICIAL
It will not.
BORIS
That is not how bodies—
OFFICIAL
Then you will make it how bodies
behave.
Silence.
The Official slides a document forward.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Sign.
Boris stares at the paper.
His hand hovers.
A moment that should be private — made public by power.
He signs.
A stamp comes down with authority.
THUNK.
OFFICIAL
Good.
He stands.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
History thanks you, Professor.
Boris does not respond.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
16 -
The Weight of Obligation
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – NIGHT
Boris enters.
Anna sits at the table in darkness. She has been waiting.
Boris removes his coat slowly.
Anna does not ask.
She already knows.
ANNA
You signed.
Boris nods once.
ANNA (CONT’D)
So it begins.
Boris sits heavily.
BORIS
It began when they asked.
Anna leans forward.
ANNA
No.
She looks at him with quiet grief.
ANNA (CONT’D)
It began when you said yes.
A long silence.
Boris stares at his hands.
The same hands that fed his son. Held his wife. Now tasked
with preserving a god.
Outside, distant bells ring.
Not church bells.
Factory bells.
A new religion waking.
Boris whispers, almost to himself:
BORIS
Indefinitely…
Anna reaches across the table and places her hand over his.
Not to comfort him.
To anchor him.
ANNA
Then we will stay human.
Even if they do not.
Boris closes his eyes.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1925
INT. ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO – DAY
Granite samples line a long table.
Red Karelian quartzite. Black labradorite. Grey marble.
ALEXEY SHCHUSEV studies a scale model of the mausoleum.
Stepped geometry. Severe. Ancient.
A PARTY COMMISSION sits opposite.
OFFICIAL
It must resemble nothing Western.
Shchusev nods.
SHCHUSEV
It resembles no cathedral.
No palace. No throne.
He adjusts the model slightly.
SHCHUSEV (CONT’D)
It resembles permanence.
A beat.
OFFICIAL
And authority.
Shchusev does not argue.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
17 -
Preserving the Legacy
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
The wooden mausoleum stands beside scaffolding.
Workers unload massive stone slabs.
Cranes creak.
Granite dragged across frozen earth.
The wooden structure already feels obsolete.
Boris stands observing, coat pulled tight.
Ilya joins him.
ILYA
It looks like a pyramid.
BORIS
Pyramids hold kings.
ILYA
He was more than a king.
Boris does not respond.
INT. TEMPORARY MAUSOLEUM – NIGHT
Closed to the public.
Lenin’s face glows under filtered light.
Boris adjusts illumination.
A faint waxiness at the cheek.
ILYA
The dryness is returning.
BORIS
Humidity must remain controlled.
ILYA
We cannot control weather.
BORIS
Then we control everything else.
He makes notes.
Routine is forming.
Not discovery.
Maintenance.
SUPER: OCTOBER 1930
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
18 -
Stability in the Shadows
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
The completed STONE MAUSOLEUM rises.
Red granite. Black labradorite. Immovable.
Its weight dominates the square.
Crowds gather for reopening.
Military precision.
Drums roll softly.
INT. STONE MAUSOLEUM – VESTIBULE – DAY
The interior is geometric and austere.
Light filtered deliberately.
The descent into the Funeral Hall is ceremonial.
Boris walks the stair slowly.
Ilya behind him.
The hall opens — a ten-meter cube.
Red porphyry pillars. Black bands of labradorite. The
illusion of flames in stone.
At the center — the new sarcophagus.
Bronze framing. Glass angled.
Lenin rests beneath it.
Almost luminous.
ILYA
It feels different.
BORIS
It is.
ILYA
Better?
Boris studies the body carefully.
BORIS
More exposed.
A PARTY OFFICIAL approaches.
OFFICIAL
Professor Zbarsky.
Boris turns.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The structure has been reinforced
against vibration.
Boris glances at the thick stone walls.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Twenty tonnes beneath the
sarcophagus.
Sand layer. Piles driven deep.
ILYA
Against what?
OFFICIAL
History is unstable.
A faint smile.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
We prefer stability.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
19 -
Silent Reverence
INT. FUNERAL HALL – LATER
The public flows through.
A new choreography.
Down the left staircase. Around the sarcophagus. Up the right
staircase.
Disciplined. Silent.
A Young Pioneer stares intensely.
An old peasant woman weeps quietly.
The illusion is complete.
Anna stands near the rear, observing.
She has never seen it in stone.
She studies the architecture first.
Then the body.
Then Boris.
She descends after hours, when the hall is closed.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – NIGHT
Empty.
Lenin alone in glass.
Boris and Ilya perform inspection.
Anna stands at the perimeter.
ANNA
It is colder.
BORIS
Stone holds temperature.
ANNA
It holds silence.
A beat.
She steps closer to the sarcophagus.
ANNA (CONT’D)
They built him a temple.
ILYA
It is not a temple.
ANNA
No?
She gestures around.
ANNA (CONT’D)
People descend.
They do not speak. They cannot put
their hands in their pockets. Men
cannot wear hats.They look up at
him.
She turns to Boris.
ANNA (CONT’D)
That is worship.
Boris studies Lenin’s face.
BORIS
It is presentation.
ANNA
Presentation becomes belief.
Silence.
Ilya watches his parents — torn between reverence and unease.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
20 -
State Control and Preservation Anxiety
INT. LABORATORY BENEATH MAUSOLEUM – NIGHT
A dedicated chamber now.
Tables. Solutions. Precise instruments.
Not improvised anymore.
Institutional.
Vorobiev joins them.
VOROBIEV
We must standardize the solution.
BORIS
Based on what interval?
VOROBIEV
Annual inspection.
Full correction as needed.
Ilya writes it down.
ILYA
Annual immersion?
Boris pauses.
BORIS
Not yet.
He studies Lenin’s hand.
Skin taut.
Unnaturally preserved.
BORIS (CONT’D)
We are not there yet.
But the idea is planted.
INT. LABORATORY BENEATH MAUSOLEUM – NIGHT
The room is more organized now.
Glass cabinets. Standardized bottles labeled precisely.
Logbooks arranged in sequence.
Boris reviews tissue notes.
Ilya measures solution ratios confidently.
A quiet knock.
Both men look up.
The door opens.
A NEW OFFICIAL enters — younger, sharper, not one of the
earlier Politburo men.
He surveys the room without speaking.
NEW OFFICIAL
Comrade Zbarsky.
BORIS
Yes.
NEW OFFICIAL
From this point forward, all notes
will be duplicated.
He gestures to the logbook.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
One copy for your records.
One for the Committee.
Boris studies him.
BORIS
The procedures are technical.
NEW OFFICIAL
The procedures are political.
Silence.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Comrade Stalin has taken particular
interest.
The name lands.
Ilya looks up.
BORIS
Interest in what?
NEW OFFICIAL
In consistency.
He steps closer to Lenin’s resting form in the adjacent
chamber.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The people must never observe
change.
A beat.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
There will be inspections.
He turns toward the door.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Unannounced.
He exits.
Silence returns.
ILYA
He spoke as if—
BORIS
—as if the body belongs to them.
A beat.
BORIS (CONT’D)
It does.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
Military band rehearses outside.
Boots echo above the stone ceiling.
Through the thick granite walls, faint vibration hums.
Boris notices.
He looks toward the ceiling.
ILYA
The tribune.
BORIS
Yes.
ILYA
Will it affect—
BORIS
Everything affects.
He studies Lenin’s face carefully.
A slight dryness at the brow.
Small. But there.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
21 -
Symbols of the Future
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – EVENING
Anna prepares tea.
Ilya speaks animatedly.
ILYA
They reinforced the foundation with
sand layering and piles.
To prevent vibration from parades.
ANNA
Parades for whom?
ILYA
For the future.
ANNA
The future does not require stone.
ILYA
It requires symbols.
Boris watches this exchange quietly.
ANNA
Symbols that breathe are called
leaders.
Symbols that do not are called
idols.
Ilya hesitates.
BORIS
Enough.
Anna softens.
ANNA
I am not condemning.
I am reminding.
She looks at Boris.
ANNA (CONT’D)
You are preserving a man.
Not a miracle.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
22 -
The Weight of Preservation
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Boris inspects Lenin’s left hand under magnification.
The skin has tightened slightly.
Fine cracks forming along the knuckle.
ILYA
It was not there last month.
BORIS
It was.
ILYA
No.
Boris looks again.
He sees it now — clearer.
BORIS
Prepare diluted acetic wash.
Ilya moves quickly.
BORIS (CONT’D)
If surface correction fails…
He doesn’t finish.
ILYA
Then what?
Boris studies the preserved face.
The illusion of peace.
BORIS
Then we must consider immersion.
Ilya pauses.
ILYA
Complete?
BORIS
Complete.
The word hangs heavy.
Not panic.
Inevitable.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1933
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
23 -
The Watchful Eye
INT. FUNERAL HALL – EARLY MORNING
Closed to the public.
The hall is dimly lit, almost theatrical.
Boris stands beside the sarcophagus.
Ilya adjusts a light filter.
Footsteps echo on stone.
Measured. Slow.
JOSEPH STALIN enters.
Not grand. Not theatrical.
Compact. Controlled.
Two aides remain behind him.
Stalin removes his gloves deliberately.
He approaches the glass.
Studies Lenin’s face.
Long silence.
No one breathes.
STALIN
He appears… unchanged.
BORIS
We do our best.
Stalin does not look at him.
STALIN
You must do better than your best.
A beat.
STALIN (CONT’D)
The people come for reassurance.
He leans closer.
STALIN (CONT’D)
Reassurance must not age.
Boris swallows slightly.
BORIS
There are biological—
STALIN
There are expectations.
Silence.
Stalin straightens.
STALIN (CONT’D)
I am told you have developed… new
methods.
He finally turns his gaze directly to Boris.
The look is not anger.
It is assessment.
BORIS
We are refining stabilization.
STALIN
Refine faster.
He gestures faintly toward Lenin’s body.
STALIN (CONT’D)
History is fragile.
A beat.
STALIN (CONT’D)
It must not appear so.
He turns to leave.
Stops.
Without looking back—
STALIN (CONT’D)
If there is ever… visible change—
A pause.
STALIN (CONT’D)
You will inform us immediately.
He exits.
The door closes softly.
Only after several seconds does anyone move.
Ilya exhales.
ILYA
He did not blink.
BORIS
He does not need to.
Ilya looks at Lenin.
Then toward the door Stalin exited.
For the first time, the preservation feels like surveillance.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
24 -
Clinical Preservation
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Logbooks open.
Charts of tissue elasticity. Moisture percentages.
Temperature logs.
Vorobiev stands beside Boris.
VOROBIEV
Surface correction is no longer
sufficient.
BORIS
I know.
Ilya watches both men carefully.
VOROBIEV
If we do not proceed now,
we risk deeper fissures.
Silence.
BORIS
Close the mausoleum.
ILYA
For how long?
BORIS
As long as required.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
A discreet sign posted:
“Closed for Maintenance.”
Crowds murmur.
No explanation beyond that.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – NIGHT
The sarcophagus opened.
The glass lifted carefully.
The body raised with extreme precision.
The moment is clinical.
Not reverent.
Not dramatic.
Just careful.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
25 -
Preserving the Myth
INT. LABORATORY – CONTINUOUS
A long stainless basin filled with clear solution.
The surface still.
Boris and Ilya lower Lenin’s body slowly.
As it enters the liquid, the face distorts slightly under
refraction.
Ilya watches — transfixed.
ANNA stands in the doorway, unseen by the others.
She grips the frame quietly.
The body is fully submerged.
Silence.
BORIS
Record the time.
Ilya writes.
VOROBIEV
We will monitor tissue response at
twelve-hour intervals.
Anna steps back from the doorway.
Her voice barely above a whisper.
ANNA
You wash him like a child.
Boris does not turn.
ANNA (CONT’D)
But he is not yours.
Silence.
The liquid barely ripples.
The revolution, suspended
SUPER: 1937
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
The process is routine now.
Immersion schedule posted on the wall.
Annual inspection. Periodic correction.
Ilya now leads a small team.
Boris observes more than directs.
A new assistant refers to a printed manual.
ASSISTANT
Section three: discoloration
protocol.
ILYA
Yes.
He moves confidently.
The ritual has become doctrine.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
Lenin rests under glass.
Perfectly composed.
The illusion intact.
Above, on the tribune, Stalin stands reviewing a military
parade.
Boots pound Red Square.
The mausoleum does not shake.
Below, in stone and chemical solution—
The myth endures.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
26 -
The Onset of War
SUPER: MOSCOW – JUNE 1941INT. LABORATORY – DAY
Radio static crackles in the background.
A VOICE (O.S.)
Germany has crossed our borders.
The assistants stop working.
Ilya looks up slowly.
Boris does not react immediately.
He continues writing.
The VOICE continues — urgent, official.
Ilya moves toward the radio, turns it louder.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
The Motherland is in danger.
Silence settles in the lab.
BORIS
Continue.
ILYA
Father—
BORIS
Continue.
But even he glances toward the ceiling.
Toward Red Square.
Toward the mausoleum above.
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
Military vehicles roll across the cobblestones.
The mausoleum stands unmoving.
Soldiers fortify defensive positions around Moscow.
Searchlights sweep the sky at night.
The tribune now holds generals instead of parade banners.
Now the critical decision: evacuation.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical","War"]
Ratings
Scene
27 -
The Weight of Secrecy
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CHAMBER – NIGHT
Dim light.
Maps marked with German advance lines.
An OFFICIAL addresses Boris and Ilya.
OFFICIAL
If Moscow falls—
He does not finish.
BORIS
You intend to move him.
OFFICIAL
We intend to protect him.
ILYA
To where?
OFFICIAL
Tyumen.
A long beat.
BORIS
Transporting the body risks
destabilization.
OFFICIAL
Leaving it risks destruction.
Silence.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
You will accompany it.
Ilya looks at Boris.
BORIS
Of course.
The Official studies them.
OFFICIAL
No one must know.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The people must believe he remains.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
28 -
Departure Under Shadows
EXT. MOSCOW RAIL YARD – NIGHT
Blackout conditions.
No lights beyond necessary lanterns.
A heavily guarded train waits.
Crates marked with coded identifiers.
The sarcophagus transported under canvas.
No ceremony.
No announcement.
Boris supervises carefully.
Ilya checks temperature gauges inside a portable preservation
chamber.
ANNA stands at a distance.
She approaches Boris quietly.
ANNA
You follow him even to Siberia.
BORIS
I follow my work.
ANNA
No.
She studies him.
ANNA (CONT’D)
You follow their fear.
He does not deny it.
A whistle blows.
Time to board.
Ilya helps secure the chamber inside a rail carriage.
The doors close.
The train moves.
Snow falls.
SUPER: TYUMEN – 1941
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
29 -
The Fragility of Legacy
INT. MAKESHIFT LAB – WAREHOUSE – NIGHT
Crates stacked around.
Dim industrial lamps.
The body rests on a simple table.
No grand architecture.
No marble.
Just wood and metal.
Boris studies the face.
Ilya checks moisture levels.
ILYA
It feels… smaller.
BORIS
Everything does in exile.
Silence.
Bombing sounds distant — not Moscow, but memory of it.
No crowds here.
No parades.
Just preservation in hiding.
ANNA enters carrying tea.
ANNA
He looks different without the
stone.
She studies Lenin.
ANNA (CONT’D)
Almost… ordinary.
That lands.
BORIS
Do not say that.
ANNA
Why?
A beat.
ANNA (CONT’D)
He is dead.
Silence.
For the first time, the illusion feels fragile.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1945
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
30 -
Reflections of Victory
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
Victory banners hang from Kremlin walls.
Crowds flood the square again — but this time with
celebration, not grief.
Military bands play.
Soldiers march.
The STONE MAUSOLEUM stands intact.
Untouched.
Waiting.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – MORNING
Dust sheets are pulled away.
The glass polished carefully.
Light filters recalibrated.
Boris stands at the center.
Older now.
Hair thinner. Shoulders slightly bent.
Ilya, more confident, supervises assistants.
The body is returned to its sarcophagus.
The stone architecture restores its authority instantly.
ILYA
Temperature is stable.
BORIS
Humidity?
ILYA
Within tolerance.
A beat.
BORIS
He survived Hitler.
ILYA
We survived Hitler.
Boris studies his son.
BORIS
We survived because we were hidden.
A pause.
BORIS (CONT’D)
Now we are visible again.
Above them — power reasserts itself.
EXT. RED SQUARE – LATER
STALIN stands atop the tribune.
The parade below him roars.
Tanks roll. Aircraft streak overhead.
From his elevated vantage, he looks down over the mausoleum.
Over Lenin.
Over Moscow.
He does not smile.
He observes.
Back below — subtle decay.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
31 -
The Weight of Time
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Boris examines Lenin’s right cheek under magnification.
A faint sagging near the jawline.
Time reasserting itself.
ILYA
Surface correction?
BORIS
Yes.
Ilya prepares diluted solution confidently.
BORIS (CONT’D)
We must be careful.
ILYA
We always are.
Boris studies him — noticing something.
Less doubt. More certainty.
BORIS
Careful is not the same as
permanent.
Ilya hesitates.
ILYA
Nothing is permanent.
BORIS
They believe otherwise.
Silence.
SUPER: MOSCOW – MARCH 1953
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
A knock.
Not hurried.
Measured.
An OFFICIAL enters.
Older than before. Different face. Same tone.
OFFICIAL
Comrade Stalin has suffered a
stroke.
Silence.
ILYA
Is he—
OFFICIAL
You will be informed.
Boris closes his notebook slowly.
He looks at Lenin’s body.
Then back at the Official.
BORIS
You will require us again.
The Official says nothing.
But does not deny it.
SUPER: MOSCOW – MARCH 1953
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
32 -
The Weight of Silence
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Dim. Quiet.
Guards stand unusually still.
Footsteps echo.
Boris and Ilya are escorted down the hall once again.
Older now.
Boris moves slower. Ilya steadier.
The door opens.
INT. KREMLIN – PRIVATE CHAMBER – CONTINUOUS
Stalin lies on a table.
Smaller than expected.
His mustache perfectly trimmed. His skin already losing
color.
Doctors whisper in low tones.
An OFFICIAL addresses Boris without ceremony.
OFFICIAL
The General Secretary is dead.
A pause.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The Presidium is considering
arrangements.
Boris does not approach the body immediately.
ILYA does.
He studies Stalin clinically.
ILYA
Time of death?
OFFICIAL
Several hours ago.
Boris finally steps forward.
BORIS
Has the decision been made?
The Official hesitates.
OFFICIAL
It will be.
A long silence.
Everyone understands what the question means.
Now the political decision scene.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
33 -
Preserving Legacy
INT. PRESIDIUM CHAMBER – DAY
Long table.
No raised voices.
Just calculation.
OFFICIAL #1
The people expect continuity.
OFFICIAL #2
Continuity of what?
OFFICIAL #1
Of strength.
A beat.
OFFICIAL #3
Lenin alone symbolizes origin.
OFFICIAL #1
Lenin and Stalin together symbolize
victory.
Silence.
OFFICIAL #2
Victory fades.
OFFICIAL #1
Not if preserved.
The word lands.
OFFICIAL #3
The mausoleum can accommodate him?
A glance toward a clerk.
CLERK
With modification.
A long pause.
OFFICIAL #1
Then it will be done.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
34 -
The Weight of Preservation
INT. FUNERAL HALL – NIGHT
Closed to the public.
Lenin remains in place.
The sarcophagus has been altered slightly.
A second space prepared.
Stalin’s body is brought in.
No speeches. No banners. Just precision.
Boris watches.
Ilya supervises assistants.
ANNA stands near the rear once again.
Stalin is placed beside Lenin.
Two preserved faces under glass.
Side by side.
ILYA
We will require double maintenance.
BORIS
We will require double caution.
Anna steps closer to Boris.
ANNA
You preserve them both?
BORIS
We are instructed to.
ANNA
Then the tomb is no longer history.
She studies the two bodies.
ANNA (CONT’D)
It is competition.
Silence.
Above them, footsteps cross the tribune.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1954
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
The public descends in silence.
Two bodies now.
Two faces beneath glass.
A small brass plaque reads:
LENIN
STALIN
Some visitors hesitate. Some bow slightly. Some look between
the two faces as if comparing them.
Above, the tribune is crowded.
Military brass. Party leadership.
Below — stillness.
Now the lab tension doubles.
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Two examination tables now.
Double logbooks. Double immersion schedules.
Ilya works over Stalin’s hand.
An assistant monitors Lenin’s facial tone.
ILYA
He retains moisture better than
Lenin.
BORIS
He has been dead a shorter time.
ILYA
His tissue density is stronger.
BORIS
He ruled longer.
Ilya almost smiles.
BORIS (CONT’D)
Do not mistake preservation for
durability.
Ilya pauses.
Anna sees what the men do not.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
35 -
The Weight of Preservation
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – EVENING
Anna sits by the window.
Her hair now streaked with grey.
She speaks quietly while Boris removes his gloves.
ANNA
Two bodies now.
BORIS
Yes.
ANNA
And when the third comes?
Boris stops.
ANNA (CONT’D)
How many men must be frozen before
history moves on?
BORIS
History does not move on.
It layers.
ANNA
No.
She looks at him gently.
ANNA (CONT’D)
It erodes.
INT. LABORATORY – LATE NIGHT
Immersion basin prepared.
Lenin is submerged.
Stalin lies under inspection.
Ilya monitors both.
Sweat forms at his temple.
ILYA
We cannot maintain separate cycles
indefinitely.
BORIS
We will standardize.
ILYA
Standardize decay?
Silence.
Boris looks older now.
Fatigued.
BORIS
We standardize illusion.
A subtle power shift.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
36 -
Shifting Roles
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
A YOUNG PARTY OFFICIAL speaks quietly to Ilya.
BORIS stands further back than usual.
YOUNG OFFICIAL
Future modifications may be
necessary.
ILYA
To the lighting?
YOUNG OFFICIAL
To the arrangement.
Ilya understands.
BORIS overhears.
Their eyes meet.
Time is shifting again.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1954
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
Ilya supervises assistants.
Boris sits at a desk reviewing logs.
He rubs his hand absently. A tremor, slight but noticeable.
Ilya notices.
ILYA
You should rest.
BORIS
Rest is for the preserved.
Ilya smiles faintly.
BORIS (CONT’D)
Stalin’s immersion schedule must
not overlap Lenin’s.
ILYA
I’ve adjusted it.
Boris studies his son.
He nods.
He knows.
The work no longer requires him.
Now a private scene.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
37 -
Quiet Acceptance
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – EVENING
Anna helps Boris remove his coat.
He moves slower now.
ANNA
You are pale.
BORIS
It is the light in that hall.
It changes everything.
Anna studies him.
ANNA
You gave them permanence.
BORIS
No.
He sits carefully.
BORIS (CONT’D)
I gave them maintenance.
A beat.
BORIS (CONT’D)
Time still wins.
Anna sits beside him.
ANNA
Then let time win you.
He looks at her. Softens.
BORIS
If I leave, he remains.
ANNA
He always remained.
She touches his hand.
ANNA (CONT’D)
You are not responsible for
history.
Boris closes his eyes briefly.
Now the death scene. Quiet.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
38 -
Final Reflections
INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT
Boris lies in bed.
Breathing shallow.
No dramatic music. No speeches.
Ilya sits beside him.
ANNA stands at the window.
Snow falls outside.
BORIS
(weakly)
Did we do it well?
ILYA
Yes.
BORIS
Will he last?
Ilya hesitates.
ILYA
As long as necessary.
Boris studies his son carefully.
A faint smile.
BORIS
That was never the question.
Silence.
He exhales slowly.
Stillness.
Anna moves to the bed.
She closes his eyes gently.
ILYA remains seated.
Watching.
EXT. MOSCOW CEMETERY – DAY
A modest burial.
No tribune. No marble.
A simple stone.
ANNA and ILYA stand alone.
Snow falls lightly.
Ilya looks toward the Kremlin in the distance.
He understands the irony.
His father buried. Lenin not.
SUPER: MOSCOW – OCTOBER 1961
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
39 -
The Inevitable Decision
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Ilya reviews tissue reports.
Older now. Measured. Confident.
The door opens.
A NEW OFFICIAL enters — Khrushchev-era tone. Less fear. More
calculation.
NEW OFFICIAL
Professor Zbarsky.
ILYA
Yes.
NEW OFFICIAL
The Party has concluded its
Congress.
A beat.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
A decision has been made.
Ilya closes his notebook slowly.
He already knows.
ILYA
Stalin?
NEW OFFICIAL
He will be removed.
Silence.
ILYA
When?
NEW OFFICIAL
Tonight.
A beat.
NEW OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Without announcement.
Now the removal scene. No theatrics.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
40 -
Quiet Erasure
INT. FUNERAL HALL – LATE NIGHT
Closed.
No public.
No banners.
Just a small technical team.
The sarcophagus opened.
Lenin remains untouched.
Stalin’s side is accessed carefully.
Assistants work in silence.
Ilya supervises.
The body is lifted.
Handled as clinically as ever.
No ceremony.
No words spoken about him.
ANNA stands in the shadows again.
Watching.
ILYA
(to assistant)
Maintain structural support on the
left panel.
The assistant nods.
Stalin is removed.
For a moment — the space beside Lenin is empty.
Unbalanced.
A void where ideology once doubled itself.
Ilya studies the empty half.
ANNA (QUIETLY)
History erodes.
Ilya does not look at her.
ILYA
History edits.
CUT TO: BURIAL WITHOUT GLORY.
EXT. KREMLIN WALL NECROPOLIS – NIGHT
Dim floodlights.
A simple grave prepared near the wall.
No public crowd.
Stalin’s coffin lowered quietly.
A handful of officials present.
No applause. No weeping.
The soil is replaced efficiently.
Covered.
Forgotten by morning.
Genres:
["Historical Drama","Political Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
41 -
The Burden of Preservation
INT. FUNERAL HALL – MORNING
The public re-enters.
The brass plaque now only reads:
LENIN
Visitors descend.
Some glance instinctively to the right.
Notice the absence.
But no announcement is made.
The illusion adjusts seamlessly.
Below, Ilya stands in the lab.
He reviews Lenin’s hand.
Alone now in preservation.
ILYA
(to himself)
Indefinitely.
The word no longer sounds hopeful.
It sounds heavy.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1973
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
Renovation scaffolding lines portions of the hall.
Workers move carefully under supervision.
The sarcophagus has been redesigned.
A new glass casing — more modern. Cleaner lines. Improved
illumination.
Ilya stands with a SOVIET SCULPTOR reviewing final
adjustments.
SCULPTOR
The frame allows better light
diffusion.
Less heat.
ILYA
Heat is not the enemy.
Moisture is.
The sculptor nods but does not fully understand.
ILYA (CONT’D)
It must appear unchanged.
The sculptor studies Lenin’s face.
SCULPTOR
He appears… younger.
ILYA
That is the intention.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
42 -
Restoration in the Lab
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Ilya examines Lenin’s face under magnification.
Assistants observe quietly.
A faint hollowing around the orbital cavity.
ILYA
Increase glycerol concentration in
next cycle.
ASSISTANT
The tissue is thinning.
ILYA
Yes.
He pauses.
ILYA (CONT’D)
Prepare the ocular supports.
The assistant hesitates slightly.
ASSISTANT
Synthetic replacements?
Ilya nods once.
No drama.
No shock.
Just inevitability.
INT. LABORATORY – LATER
The body rests under bright, sterile light.
Ilya works with precision.
The orbital cavity is accessed carefully.
Not shown graphically. Only hands. Instruments. Breath.
He inserts a synthetic ocular form.
Aligns it.
Steps back.
Under filtered light, the face appears whole again.
ILYA
Adjust illumination two degrees
warmer.
An assistant complies.
The illusion restores itself.
Anna now older, fragile but clear-eyed.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
43 -
Echoes of Responsibility
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – EVENING
Anna sits in a chair near the window.
Her movements slower.
Ilya pours tea.
ANNA
They fixed him again?
ILYA
Maintenance.
ANNA
He is less man now than memory.
Ilya does not respond.
ANNA (CONT’D)
Does it trouble you?
ILYA
It is my responsibility.
ANNA
Responsibility is not belief.
Silence.
ANNA (CONT’D)
Your father feared permanence.
Ilya looks at her carefully.
ILYA
He feared failure.
ANNA
No.
She studies him.
ANNA (CONT’D)
He feared success.
That lands harder than anything before.
SUPER: MOSCOW – LATE 1970s
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
44 -
Echoes of Preservation
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
Tourists photograph the square then put cameras in pockets.
The line is shorter than in decades past.
Still steady — but thinner.
Inside, the ritual continues.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
Visitors move through efficiently.
Some whisper.
Some stare briefly and move on.
Lenin’s face appears calm.
Unchanged.
But Ilya, watching from the shadows, sees the truth.
The illusion requires more work each year.
SUPER: MOSCOW – EARLY 1980s
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
The process is mechanical now.
Assistants follow typed procedures.
Typed.
Not handwritten.
Ilya oversees from a desk rather than the table.
He watches more than he works.
ASSISTANT
Moisture levels stable.
ILYA
Document it.
The assistant stamps a form.
Stamp.
Stamp.
Stamp.
The sound echoes.
Now we mirror earlier ritual with emotional erosion.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
45 -
The Quiet End
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
Visitors move through quickly.
Less reverence. More curiosity.
A TOURIST whispers in German.
A Soviet guard hushes him.
Lenin lies unchanged.
But the silence feels different.
Routine.
Now Anna’s quiet departure.
No speeches. No symbolism heavy-handed.
Just life concluding.
INT. ZBARSKY APARTMENT – NIGHT
Anna lies in bed.
Breathing shallow.
Ilya sits beside her.
Older now. Lines deeper. Hair thinning.
ANNA
Do they still descend the stairs?
ILYA
Yes.
ANNA
Do they still whisper?
ILYA
Yes.
ANNA
Then nothing has changed.
A beat.
She studies him carefully.
ANNA (CONT’D)
Except you.
Ilya absorbs that.
ANNA (CONT’D)
Promise me something.
ILYA
Anything.
ANNA
When it ends… let it end.
He hesitates.
ILYA
It does not end.
ANNA
Everything ends.
A long silence.
She closes her eyes.
The room is very still.
Ilya remains seated long after her breathing stops.
Now he is alone.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1989
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
Smaller lines.
Tourists with cameras.
Souvenir vendors.
The atmosphere has shifted.
The mausoleum remains — but the aura has thinned.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
46 -
Enduring Silence
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
Budget forms stacked on the desk.
A YOUNGER OFFICIAL speaks to Ilya.
YOUNGER OFFICIAL
There are discussions about funding
allocations.
ILYA
The protocol cannot be interrupted.
YOUNGER OFFICIAL
Nothing is being interrupted.
A beat.
YOUNGER OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
But priorities evolve.
The word echoes ominously.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1987
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
Television plays quietly in the corner.
GORBACHEV speaks of reform.
Transparency. Restructuring.
The assistants glance at the screen.
Ilya does not.
He reviews a discoloration log.
ASSISTANT
They are discussing the past openly
now.
ILYA
The past has always been open.
ASSISTANT
Not like this.
A beat.
ILYA
He does not speak.
He gestures toward the mausoleum above.
ILYA (CONT’D)
That is why he endures.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
47 -
Preservation and Unraveling
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
A FOREIGN JOURNALIST walks slowly through.
He studies the glass.
Whispers to his translator.
JOURNALIST
Is it true the body is replaced
periodically?
The GUARD stiffens.
Later —
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
The same journalist sits across from Ilya.
Recorder on table.
JOURNALIST
How much of him is original?
Silence.
ILYA
Enough.
JOURNALIST
Enough for what?
ILYA
Enough to remain himself.
The journalist studies him.
JOURNALIST
And when that is no longer true?
Ilya does not answer.
This adds intellectual tension.
Now we escalate.
SUPER: MOSCOW – AUGUST 1991
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
Crowds gather — not for mourning.
For protest.
Tanks move through the streets.
The Soviet flag trembles.
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
The power flickers.
Assistants look uneasy.
An OFFICIAL enters — no longer confident.
OFFICIAL
We may lose electricity.
ILYA
That cannot happen.
OFFICIAL
Many things cannot happen.
A beat.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Funding is suspended.
Silence.
ILYA
Suspended?
OFFICIAL
Until further notice.
The official leaves.
The hum of equipment feels fragile.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
48 -
Indefinite Preservation
INT. GOVERNMENT OFFICE – LATE 1990s
YELTSIN-era meeting.
Church representative present.
Official speaks:
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
The body should be buried with his
mother.
Another:
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Removing him would fracture the
population.
Ilya sits at the end of the table.
Not consulted. Not powerful.
Just witness.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Professor Zbarsky,is continued
preservation possible?
ILYA
Possible is not the question.
Silence.
OFFICIAL
Then what is?
ILYA
Whether it is necessary.
That gives you philosophical weight.
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Elderly Ilya stands over the immersion basin.
The body lowered once more.
The solution still.
He rests his hand briefly on Lenin’s preserved fingers.
ILYA
(indistinct)
Indefinitely.
But now the word carries no ideology.
Only habit.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
49 -
Preservation Amidst Collapse
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY – PRESENT
Tourists pose for photographs.
The mausoleum in the background.
Few in line.
No fervor.
Just curiosity.
CUT TO BLACK.
SUPER: MOSCOW – AUGUST 1991
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
The lights flicker again.
This time longer.
Equipment hum falters.
An assistant rushes in.
ASSISTANT
Generator levels dropping.
ILYA
Switch to secondary.
ASSISTANT
We already have.
A beat.
The room feels smaller.
ILYA
How long?
ASSISTANT
If the grid fails completely…
hours.
Silence.
Above them, distant shouting from Red Square.
Protests.
Ilya moves to the sarcophagus chamber.
He studies Lenin’s face.
Still calm.
Still composed.
ILYA
(to himself)
You have outlasted them all.
INT. LABORATORY – LATER
Assistants debate quietly.
ASSISTANT #2
If funding stops, we cannot
maintain chemical rotation.
ASSISTANT #1
Perhaps that is the point.
Ilya overhears.
ILYA
The point is preservation.
ASSISTANT #2
Preservation of what?
Silence.
ILYA
Stability.
ASSISTANT #2
The state has collapsed.
The word hangs.
Collapsed.
Ilya does not respond immediately.
ILYA
The body remains.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
50 -
Confronting History
INT. TELEVISION STUDIO – NIGHT
Panel discussion.
Historian. Priest. Political analyst.
Ilya sits under studio lights for the first time.
HISTORIAN
It is an artifact of a failed
system.
PRIEST
It is unnatural.
ANALYST
It costs millions annually.
Host turns to Ilya.
HOST
Professor, why continue?
Long silence.
ILYA
Because history is not clean.
The room waits.
ILYA (CONT’D)
If you bury him, you erase your
argument.
If you preserve him, you confront
it.
The panel falls quiet.
INT. GOVERNMENT OFFICE – LATE 1990s
A younger administration.
Discussion of burial logistics.
OFFICIAL
The public is divided.
ANOTHER OFFICIAL
He should be with his mother.
Ilya sits quietly.
OFFICIAL
Professor, would burial compromise
the body?
ILYA
No.
OFFICIAL
Then why resist?
Ilya considers carefully.
ILYA
I do not resist burial.
A beat.
ILYA (CONT’D)
I resist forgetting.
Silence.
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Ilya alone.
No assistants.
He studies the preservation logs.
Decades of handwriting.
His father’s ink.
His own.
He touches the page from 1924.
He closes the book gently.
ILYA
(to the empty room)
We did it.
Not triumphant.
Not regretful.
Just factual.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
51 -
Echoes of History
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY – PRESENT
Visitors descend.
Phones in hands then to pockets being watched by guards.
Quiet curiosity.
No reverence.
No ideology.
Just a preserved man beneath glass.
Ilya stands at the back of the hall.
Older now.
Watching.
A child looks at Lenin.
CHILD
Is he sleeping?
The mother hesitates.
MOTHER
No.
She searches for the word.
MOTHER (CONT’D)
He is remembered.
Ilya closes his eyes briefly.
Not belief.
Not pride.
Just endurance.
CUT TO BLACK.
SUPER: MOSCOW – AUGUST 1991
EXT. RED SQUARE – NIGHT
Tanks idle in the distance.
Crowds gather in knots under street lamps.
The Kremlin walls loom black and impenetrable.
Lenin’s Mausoleum sits like a sealed mouth.
INT. LABORATORY BENEATH MAUSOLEUM – NIGHT
Emergency lanterns glow.
The main lights flicker—then hold.
Ilya stands over a monitor.
A YOUNG TECHNICIAN adjusts a panel.
TECHNICIAN
Voltage is unstable.
ILYA
How unstable?
TECHNICIAN
Enough to fail the filters.
Enough to spike the temperature.
Ilya looks toward the closed door leading to the Funeral
Hall.
ILYA
If the heat rises, the moisture
shifts.
TECHNICIAN
And if moisture shifts—
ILYA
We lose the face first.
The Technician stares at him, not fully understanding.
Another flicker.
A low HUM drops out—then returns.
ASSISTANT #1 rushes in, breathless.
ASSISTANT #1
They’ve pulled the guard detail.
ILYA
Who?
ASSISTANT #1
No one knows. The captain just
left.
He said he had orders.
Silence.
ILYA
In the old days, “orders” meant
certainty.
Now it means chaos.
ILYA (CONT’D)
Lock the service entrance.
ASSISTANT #1
We don’t have authority.
ILYA
We have responsibility.
Beat.
ILYA (CONT’D)
Lock it.
The assistant nods and goes.
The technician looks at Ilya.
TECHNICIAN
Professor… if the city goes dark—
ILYA
Then we work in the dark.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
52 -
Echoes of the Past
EXT. RED SQUARE – LATER
A small group of SOLDIERS crosses the square. Not ceremonial.
Uncertain.
One looks at the mausoleum.
SOLDIER
He’s still in there?
No one answers.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – NIGHT
Closed. The lights lowered.
The glass casing reflects the weak emergency illumination.
Lenin looks almost alive, almost less alive.
Ilya stands alone with a flashlight.
He studies the face.
For the first time in decades, the hall feels unprotected.
He hears a sound above—distant shouting.
Then another sound—closer.
A metal CLANK from somewhere in the corridor.
Ilya doesn’t panic.
He simply turns off the flashlight.
Darkness.
Silence.
Footsteps approach—then stop.
A long beat.
Then—retreating steps.
Whoever it was leaves.
Ilya turns the flashlight back on.
He stares at Lenin’s face.
ILYA
(whispers)
Even now… you draw them.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
53 -
Defiance in the Dark
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Assistants work under dim lights.
Ilya pulls a notebook from a safe drawer.
Old. Worn.
His father’s handwriting.
He flips through it carefully—ratios, observations, warnings.
A page marked:
“IF MOSCOW FALLS AGAIN — MOVE HIM.”
Ilya’s hand trembles slightly.
Not fear.
Age.
ASSISTANT #2
Professor… we’ve lost contact with
the supply office.
ILYA
Again.
ASSISTANT #2
If chemicals don’t arrive—
if potassium acetate is delayed— we
can’t maintain the next cycle.
Ilya thinks.
Calculates.
ILYA
Reduce exposure. Tighten humidity.
Extend intervals if we must.
ASSISTANT #2
And if someone orders us to stop?
Silence.
Ilya looks at him.
ILYA
Then they should come here and say
it to his face.
The assistant absorbs that.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
54 -
Echoes of Change
EXT. KREMLIN – DAWN
Smoke in the distance.
Crowds gathered around a makeshift stage.
A new flag rises.
Not red.
The Soviet emblem is being dismantled piece by piece.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAWN
The first light of morning enters faintly.
Ilya stands with two assistants.
ASSISTANT #1
Do we open today?
Ilya looks at Lenin.
The world above has changed.
But the ritual below remains.
ILYA
Open.
Beat.
ILYA (CONTD) (CONT’D)
If they want to end the century,
let them do it upstairs.
He turns away.
The doors are unlocked.
The silence returns to its public form.
SUPER: MOSCOW – 1992
INT. LABORATORY – DAY
The equipment hum is softer now.
Some machines are older.
Unreplaced.
A thin stack of paperwork sits on Ilya’s desk.
A YOUNG ADMINISTRATOR stands before him.
ADMINISTRATOR
The state has formally withdrawn
funding.
Silence.
ILYA
Completely?
ADMINISTRATOR
For now.
A beat.
ADMINISTRATOR (CONT’D)
There are private foundations
expressing interest.
The word lingers.
Private.
ILYA
Interest in what?
ADMINISTRATOR
In continuing preservation.
ILYA
At what cost?
ADMINISTRATOR
Negotiable.
Ilya studies him.
The revolution, reduced to contract terms.
Now humiliation — not dramatic, but real.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
55 -
Buried Truths
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM – DAY
Representatives from a CULTURAL FOUNDATION sit across from
Ilya.
Modern suits.
Polite smiles.
FOUNDATION DIRECTOR
We see this as heritage
conservation.
ILYA
He was not a cathedral.
FOUNDATION DIRECTOR
Everything becomes heritage
eventually.
A beat.
FOUNDATION DIRECTOR (CONT’D)
We would like transparency
regarding the process.
ILYA
Transparency?
FOUNDATION DIRECTOR
Public reassurance.
Ilya absorbs this.
For seventy years, secrecy was survival.
Now secrecy is suspicion.
Now burial debate intensifies.
INT. TELEVISION STUDIO – NIGHT
A more aggressive debate.
PRIEST
It is unchristian to display the
dead.
HISTORIAN
It is unscientific to pretend he
remains intact.
COMMUNIST VETERAN
He belongs in Red Square!
The host turns to Ilya.
HOST
Professor Zbarsky, should he be
buried?
Silence.
ILYA
He has been buried since 1924.
The room pauses.
ILYA (CONT’D)
We simply refuse to admit it.
The audience shifts.
This lands differently than before.
Now we give Ilya something deeper — reflection.
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Ilya alone.
He prepares another immersion solution.
His hands are slower.
Measured.
He lowers Lenin carefully into the basin.
The liquid still.
For a moment, the face distorts beneath the surface.
He watches.
Not clinically.
Not reverently.
Just… tired.
ILYA
(to the submerged form)
We kept you intact.
A beat.
ILYA (CONT’D)
But we could not keep them.
He means the state.
The system.
The certainty.
He checks the clock.
Writes in the logbook.
The handwriting trembles slightly.
Now we bring the political conversation directly to him.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
56 -
Preserving Memory
INT. GOVERNMENT OFFICE – LATE 1990s
An OFFICIAL speaks carefully.
OFFICIAL
There are proposals to relocate the
body.
ILYA
Where?
OFFICIAL
Volkov Cemetery. With his mother.
Ilya nods faintly.
OFFICIAL (CONT’D)
Would you oversee the process?
Long silence.
ILYA
I have overseen everything else.
OFFICIAL
Then you agree?
Ilya considers.
ILYA
If you bury him, do not pretend he
was never here.
A beat.
OFFICIAL
That would be impossible.
ILYA
Nothing is impossible.
He stands slowly.
SUPER: MOSCOW – EARLY 2000s
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
57 -
Reflections in Red Square
EXT. RED SQUARE – DAY
Tourists photograph one another.
A guide gestures casually toward the mausoleum.
GUIDE
He’s still inside.
The group nods mildly.
No awe.
Just fact.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – DAY
Visitors descend quietly.
The line is steady but thin.
Lenin rests beneath glass.
Perfectly composed.
Unmoved.
Ilya stands at the back of the hall.
Older now.
Smaller somehow.
A CHILD looks up at him.
CHILD
Does he ever wake up?
Ilya kneels slightly to meet the child’s eyes.
ILYA
No.
CHILD
Why not?
Ilya studies the preserved face.
Then the child.
ILYA
Because history does not wake up.
The mother gently guides the child away.
Ilya rises.
He looks at Lenin one final time.
No ideology. No fear. No pride.
Just endurance.
CUT TO:
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
58 -
End of Ritual
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
The immersion basin empty.
Clean.
Waiting.
Ilya closes the logbook.
The last entry written.
He turns off the light.
Darkness.
CUT TO BLACK.
SUPER: MOSCOW – OCTOBER 1993
EXT. RED SQUARE – NIGHT
Distant gunfire echoes across the city.
Smoke rises faintly from government buildings.
Armored vehicles move through Moscow once more.
The mausoleum sits unchanged.
INT. FUNERAL HALL – NIGHT
The hall is closed.
Ilya stands near the entrance as two uniformed GUARDS remove
their ceremonial posts.
The iconic “Number One Sentry.”
The boots echo sharply.
For decades they stood motionless.
Now they step down.
GUARD CAPTAIN
Orders.
Ilya nods faintly.
The guards march away.
The sound fades.
For the first time since 1924—
No sentry protects the tomb.
Silence deepens.
ILYA
(to himself)
So even ritual ends.
Now tension — the possibility of intrusion.
INT. LABORATORY – NIGHT
Assistants speak in low tones.
ASSISTANT
If the square is breached—
ILYA
It will not be.
ASSISTANT
How do you know?
Ilya looks at Lenin’s preservation logs.
ILYA
Because he has outlasted greater
chaos.
A loud POP outside — distant explosion.
The lights flicker.
The assistant flinches.
Ilya does not.
Genres:
["Drama","Historical"]
Ratings
Scene
59 -
Reflections on Preservation
INT. FUNERAL HALL – LATE NIGHT
Completely dark except for minimal emergency lighting.
Ilya stands before Lenin’s sarcophagus.
No public.
No cameras.
No guards.
Just the preserved body.
ILYA
We were never preserving you.
A long beat.
ILYA (CONT’D)
We were preserving certainty.
He studies the face.
ILYA (CONT’D)
They needed you unchanged…
so they would not have to admit
change.
Silence.
ILYA (CONT’D)
My father believed in perfection.
I believed in maintenance.
A faint, almost sad smile.
ILYA (CONT’D)
Time believed in neither.
He places his hand lightly on the glass.
Not worship.
Not farewell.
Recognition.
Genres:
["Drama"]
Ratings
Scene
60 -
Cycle Complete
INT. LABORATORY – FINAL IMMERSION – NIGHT
The body lowered once more.
The liquid envelopes the face.
Under the surface, Lenin’s features blur.
Distort.
Momentarily unrecognizable.
Ilya watches.
For the first time—
He does not adjust the lighting.
He lets the distortion remain for several seconds.
Then—
He gently corrects it.
Restores the illusion.
He writes in the logbook.
“Cycle complete.”
He closes the book.
And does not reopen it.
FADE OUT.
BLACK.
SUPER:
Vladimir Lenin’s body remains on public display in Red
Square, Moscow.
The preservation laboratory continues to operate, funded
privately and by the Russian government.
Between 1953 and 1961, Joseph Stalin’s embalmed body lay
beside Lenin. It was removed during de-Stalinization and
buried at the Kremlin Wall.
SUPER:
Boris Zbarsky died in 1954.
His son, Ilya Zbarsky, continued overseeing the preservation
program for decades before emigrating to the United States.
He later described the work as “a scientific problem, not a
political one.”
SUPER:
Since 1991, repeated proposals have been made to bury Lenin
beside his mother in St. Petersburg.
To date, he remains in the mausoleum.
Silence holds.