When looking at world history, there are only five leaders whose bodies have been preserved permanently. Behind that lies a complex relationship between technological innovation and the choices of the era.

The history of this permanent preservation began with Lenin. His body, which died in 1924, was initially scheduled for a normal burial, but emergency freezing was carried out due to the public’s passionate outpouring of mourning. After that, Soviet scientists developed a special embalming solution and established a technique to suppress bacterial growth by replacing the body’s water. In order to keep the body in a complete state for nearly 100 years, constant-temperature cooling equipment and regular restoration work are indispensable.

However, the body of Stalin—another Soviet leader—followed a completely different fate. Stalin’s body, buried in Lenin’s mausoleum in 1953, was later moved for cremation in 1961 due to shifts in subsequent political evaluations. In other words, the decision to preserve Stalin’s body or cremate it was not merely a technical issue; it was the values of the time itself.

Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam wished to be cremated during his lifetime, but his successor decided in favor of preservation. During the Vietnam War, his body was hidden and stored in a mountain cave for 5 years, while Soviet experts carried out embalming treatment while avoiding bombings.

The preservation of the body of Nétú in Angola posed even greater technical challenges. To solve the issue of black skin pigment leaking, Soviet specialists developed a special pigment-preservation technique. It is publicly shown to the general public only on his birthday once a year.

Meanwhile, because Gottwald’s preservation technology was insufficient, his body decayed and was ultimately cremated in 1962. Dimitrov’s body had been preserved for more than 40 years, but with the wave of democratization in Eastern Europe, it was ultimately cremated and buried in a cemetery. The body of Mongolia’s leader was also cremated according to Buddhist rites after his mausoleum was destroyed in 2005.

So, viewed this way, it becomes clear that the permanent preservation of bodies is not just a matter of technology; it is deeply connected to the perceptions of an era and the choices made in history. That is true of the treatment of Stalin’s body as well—these bodies in crystal coffins are not only evidence of technological progress, but also mirrors of history.