Lenin's Birthday portrait
A Drabble about good intentions that get you in trouble
April 22 is the Birthday of Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the world's proletariat and the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. It always surprises me that Hitler's and Lenin's birthdays are so close, just one full day apart (April 20 and 22, respectively). Here's a Drabble illustrating how serious Lenin's cult was in the former Soviet Union. It is a loose translation of a story by Denis Dragunsky, a wonderful Russian children's books author, who remembered this episode from 1961:
My classmate brought Lenin’s portrait to school. It wasn’t good, but the resemblance was there. He’d drawn it to celebrate Lenin’s birthday, and perhaps to earn the teacher’s praise.
Instead, the teacher yelled at him, “D’you know how much talent it takes, to draw Lenin? Only the best professional artists are trusted with this honor! How dare you to’ve botched him so badly? It’s not Lenin!”
The upset student tore the drawing into pieces.
“How dare you to tear Lenin’s portrait?” the teacher was red with anger.
“But you’ve just said it wasn’t Lenin. Can’t I tear a not-a-Lenin portrait?”
About the Creator
Lana V Lynx
Avid reader and occasional writer of satire and short fiction. For my own sanity and security, I write under a pen name. My books: Moscow Calling - 2017 and President & Psychiatrist
@lanalynx.bsky.social
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Comments (9)
Thank you for the translation, else I'd never have known this story 😁
The irony and hypocrisy is strong with those who are so outraged at anything that goes against their particular moronic grain! hilarious but as ever, a very revealing little drabble! well done, Lana!
Clever upon clever! Haha! Fabulously done, Lana!
Hahahahahahahaha that ending made me laugh so much!! Also, that picture seemed so real. If you didn't mention it was AI, I wouldn't have known. Loved your story!
Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Great drabble, Lana!
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Well, yep. That sounds about right to me.
That just about sums it up. 🙄 I didn’t realize Lenin and Hitler’s birthdays were so close. Such an interesting read Lana.
Such a poignant story of how CCCP deified Ulanov. Great Drabble Lana