The history of the Mausoleum is still full of mysteries — in the Soviet Union it was generally believed that the idea to build a museum-tomb of Ilyich arose among the common people as a symbol of respect and admiration chief. Other sources claim that in fact such an offer came from Mikhail Kalinin. There is also information that this idea was promoted on Stalin's instructions in order to initiate the creation of a new religious cult for the proletarians.

One way or another, on a cold January day in 1924, the first, then wooden mausoleum appeared on Red Square. The massive wooden cube with a pyramid at the top did not stand long — until spring. Wooden stands were added to the second version of the tomb, the same wooden cube. But this Lenin Mausoleum did not last long either. Soon, a large stone sarcophagus in the style of monumentalism appeared in its place, and it stood on the square until the end of the Second World War. During the latter, by the way, Lenin's body was evacuated to Tyumen, where it remained until the spring of 1945. In the late 1950s, the Mausoleum contained the body of not only Ilyich, but also another communist leader, Stalin.

The famous sarcophagus, which no bullet can pierce, appeared in the Mausoleum in 1973. Until 1993, a guard of honor could be seen near the Mausoleum, which changed every hour. Then this guard moved to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The last general reconstruction of the Mausoleum was carried out in 2012. At that time, special concrete vertical supports were erected under the building. In order to carry out these works, the builders had to drill about 350 deep wells.

There were legends about visiting the Mausoleum in Soviet times. Every tourist considered it his duty to visit the tomb of the leader, so there was a huge queue at the building. Today, to see Vladimir Ilyich, you need to go through a checkpoint, where visitors are checked with a metal detector. The procedure for visiting the Mausoleum itself is also specific. Here it is appropriate to behave like a funeral procession: make a circle around the territory of the mausoleum, walk past Lenin, only slightly slowing down your step. Men are supposed to take off their hats, and they should not hide their hands in their pockets.