Summary
The article examines the permanent exhibitions of the Lenin Museum in Tampere from
1946 to 1991. It analyses how narratives about Lenin have taken shape during the given
period and how social and political changes have affected its display. Methodologically,
the article draws on exhibition analysis and contextual close reading. The study shows
that the most radical change in the narratives associated with Lenin occurred after the
destalinization process. Prior to this, Stalin appeared alongside Lenin as his successor,
but after the destalinization, references to Stalin were removed. It took a comparatively
long time for the Tampere Lenin museum to remove Stalin, partly because one of the
cornerstones of the foundation of the museum was the first encounter between Lenin
and Stalin in Tampere at the very place where the museum was founded. Since the
early 1960s, the only main character of the museum was Lenin and his role as a friend
of Finland began to be highlighted in a special “Lenin and Finland” section. The narratives
related to Lenin’s life, revolutionary activities and works remained surprisingly
unchanged during the period under study.