The short story “Zombie Lenin” by Ekaterina Sedia was published for the first time in 2007.

A college student who started seeing the zombie of Lenin when she was just a little girl tries to understand the meaning of her visions following lessons on chthonic deities. Is it simply a progressive schizophrenia or is there something else behind her obsession?

“Zombie Lenin” was published in the USA in fantasy magazines and anthologies but it’s not a label that describes this story well. Ekaterina Sedia got inspired by the literary tradition described with the expression “Russian soul” (russkaya dusha) in which life is described by religious and philosophical symbolisms, also in relation to death.

This tradition is developed in “Zombie Lenin” through the story of a student who has been seeing Lenin as a zombie since her childhood. Passed through various psychiatric treatments, she finds a source of interest in university lessons concerning chthonic deities, connected to the underground and the underworld.

The story brings together ancient and modern mythologies between chthonic deities and Lenin mummy / zombie to make a quick portrait of the post-communist Russian society. The protagonist offers her really unorthodox point of view based on the lessons she saw applied to other fields such as economy.

The result is quite surreal because the protagonist is strongly influenced by the visions of zombie Lenin so she has a tendency to see things in terms of life and death. Chthonic deities and resurrection as a reward or a punishment become keys to interpret her world.

The elements concentrated in a short story such as “Zombie Lenin” could be developed in much longer works. As it is, it leaves the reader with various reflections that can embrace many subjects. The Russian setting require an adequate knowledge but there are more general themes on which everyone can reflect. You can find it also in the anthology “Citizen Komarova Finds Love”.