Preserving The Body
One of the main problems the embalmers faced was the appearance of dark spots on the skin, especially on the face and hands. They managed to solve the problem by the use of a variety of different reagents in between baths. For example, if a patch of wrinkling or discoloration occurred it was treated with an acetic acid diluted with water. Hydrogen peroxide could be used to restore the tissues' original colouring. Damp spots were removed by means of disinfectants like quinine or phenol.
Until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the continued preservation work was funded by the Russian government. At that point the government discontinued financial support and now private donations support the preservation staff.
Read more about this topic: Lenin's Mausoleum
Famous quotes containing the words preserving the, preserving and/or body:
“The children despise their parents until the age of 40, when they suddenly become just like them—thus preserving the system.”
—Quentin Crewe (20th century)
“The children despise their parents until the age of 40, when they suddenly become just like them—thus preserving the system.”
—Quentin Crewe (20th century)
““... Can poet’s thought
That springs from body and in body falls
Like this pure jet, now lost amid blue sky,
Now bathing lily leaf and fish’s scale,
Be mimicry?””
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)