Science might be a high stakes game, but a project's success or failure rarely determines whether the researchers undertaking it will live or die. There are, of course, some exceptions to this; say, for example, your work is funded by Joseph Stalin, and your task is to devise a way to preserve for eternity the body of Stalin's predecessor and the father of Soviet communism, Vladimir Lenin.
Lenin's Embalmers, a new play that opened this week at Manhattan's linkurl:Ensemble Studio Theatre,;http://www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org/ portrays Boris Zbarsky and Vladimir Vorobiev, the two biochemists whom Stalin recruited to fulfill precisely this duty shortly after Lenin's death in January, 1924. The two scientists understand the rewards that await them should they succeed, but they also know the price of failure. They tousle over whether or not to...
![]() |
embalmed body, while Vladimir Vorobiev and his assistant, Nadia, watch Photo: Gerry Goodstein |
Lenin's EmbalmersEinstein's GiftLenin's Embalmers
Lenin's Embalmers
![]() |
Photo: Gerry Goodstein |
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member?