Gorki Leninskiye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gorki Leninskiye (Russian: Го́рки Ле́нинские) is an urban-type settlement located in Leninsky District of Moscow Oblast, 10 km south of the Moscow, Russia, city limits and the MKAD. Population: 1,729 (2002 Census); 1,711 (1989 Census).
The estate of Gorki belonged to various Muscovite noblemen from the 18th century, ending up in the possession of General Anatoly Reinbot, who was Governor General of Moscow in 1905 during the First Russian Revolution. After his death the estate passed to his widow, Zinaida Morozova. She engaged the most fashionable Russian architect, Fyodor Schechtel, to remodel the mansion in the then current Neoclassical style, complete with a six-column Ionic portico.
After the Soviet government moved to Moscow in 1918, the luxurious estate was nationalized and converted into Lenin's dacha. In September 1918, the Soviet leader recuperated there from an assassination attempt. He spent an increasing amount of time there as his health declined over the following years. On 15 May 1923 Lenin followed the doctor's advice and left the Moscow Kremlin for Gorki. He lived there in semi-retirement until his death on 21 January 1924.
After Lenin's death at the estate in 1924, Gorki was renamed Gorki Leninskiye. The house has been preserved as a museum, along with many of Lenin's possessions. Also located on the estate are a large museum built in 1987 concerning Lenin's life there, containing such artifacts as his Last Testament as transcribed by Krupskaya, and his apartment and office from the Kremlin, reconstructed in a separate building. A monument representing "The Death of the Leader" was unveiled in the 18th-century park in 1958.
