Burning Lenin is not a statue or a bust but part of a church fresco in Tbilisi, Georgia. It shows monk Gabriel Urgebadze setting fire to a huge portrait of Lenin. The scene recalls one of the boldest protests against Soviet rule in Georgia. But why is this act now painted inside a church?

The story goes back to 1 May 1965. Tbilisi was celebrating the Soviet May Day parade. A 12-meter-high portrait of Vladimir Lenin was displayed on a government building. Sources describe the portrait as about 12 meters high. Among the crowd was Gabriel Urgebadze. He was a Georgian Orthodox monk who strongly opposed the communist system. During the parade, he set fire to the giant Lenin portrait.

The act caused a major reaction. Urgebadze was arrested soon after. During interrogations, Gabriel was threatened with execution. The only thing that could save him from charges of terrorism, and thus from the threat of execution, was to declare him mentally ill. He was accused under the Soviet criminal code and later sent to a psychiatric hospital. His protest, however, became an important part of his later story.

Lenin on the church wall

Today, the event has a very different setting. A church in an eastern suburb of Tbilisi is dedicated to Gabriel Urgebadze. Inside, a fresco shows the famous moment.

Gabriel stands beside the burning portrait. Lenin’s face is clearly visible in the flames. The fresco was created for the newly built church, consecrated in 2014. The fresco was painted by Georgian icon painter Kakhaber Donadze. He is known for his work on Orthodox churches and religious paintings in Georgia.

Saint Gabriel

Gabriel Urgebadze died in 1995. The Georgian Orthodox Church canonized him in 2012. He is now known as Saint Gabriel, Confessor and Fool for Christ. His burning of Lenin’s portrait became one of the best-known episodes from his life. The church fresco turns that moment into a permanent image.

For me, this makes Burning Lenin one of the most unusual Lenin images I’ve found. Lenin is still there, but this time he is the thing going up in flames.