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Lenin's health had been growing worse over time. In 1921, he forgot the words of a major speech and he had to learn to speak again and write with his left hand after one stroke. A major stroke later left him paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. However, Lurie said Lenin had recovered enough in early 1924 that he celebrated the new year and went hunting. Lenin, who supported Josef Stalin's rise to power, may have realized he made a mistake and began aligning himself with Leon Trotsky, which caused Stalin to poison Lenin, the historian said. Poisoning, in fact, eventually became one of Stalin's favorite methods of dispose of enemies, Lurie said. "The funny thing is that the brain of Lenin still is preserved in Moscow, so we can investigate," Lurie said. Lenin's embalmed body also still lies on public display in a Red Square mausoleum almost 20 years after the collapse of the communist state he helped bring to life. Vinters, who reviewed autopsy records and the leader's clinical history, said toxicology tests that might have revealed poisoning were not conducted during the autopsy. Reports from the time also show Lenin was active and talking a few hours before his death. "And then he experienced a series of really, really bad convulsions which is quite unusual for someone who has a stroke," Vinters said.
[Associated
Press;
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