AsiaNews: Not even in the Soviet times could the mummified corpse of Lenin boast such numbers. Political leaders, aware of the importance of the event, took advantage of the occasion to boost their visibility ahead of the legislative election on December 4. The prime minister and possible future Russian president Vladimir Putin, and the leader of the Communists, Gennady Ziuganov, were just some of the most famous figures who flocked to kiss the relic that here-to-fore had never left Mount Athos, where it is kept. Many others, bypassing the kilometer-long queue, arrived in front of the cathedral with sirens blaring and used preferential queues to the anger of waiting crowds. Read full report here.
