Wig of V.I. Lenin, brown-haired, sewn on a pink cotton cap, which V.I. Lenin used in August-September 1917.
Russia. 1917.
Hair, cotton fabric
Diameter – 26 cm

For conspiratorial reasons, V.I. Lenin often had to resort to make-up and changing clothes. The wig came from the Museum of V.I. Lenin at the IML in December 1935. Vladimir Ilyich needed the wig to move from Razliv to Finland. When the question arose about the crossing of V.I. Lenin to Finland, it was decided to use a certificate of employment in the name of a worker of the Sestroretsky arms factory, for which a photo of Vladimir Ilyich in a wig and makeup was necessary. There were difficulties with the purchase of a wig. It was forbidden to sell them without presenting the relevant documents. Several wigs were purchased with the presentation of the certificate of the theatrical circle of the Finnish railroad workers of the Vyborg side of Petrograd. They were delivered to V. I. Lenin, and he chose one of them. A member of the RSDLP (b) and an active worker of the Vyborg Duma Leshchenko Dmitry Ilyich took a picture of Lenin in Alliluyev’s coat, in a wig and makeup on July 29 (August 11). This photo was pasted on the pass.
Memories of D.I. Leshchenko: “They sent me a package with ‘household items’ that one party comrade was supposed to give to Vladimir Ilyich … I opened it and to my surprise I saw a whole bunch of different wigs, which were intended for Vladimir Ilyich when photographing, so that he could not be recognized.” N.A. Emelyanov and P.G. Parviainen’s wife who saw Lenin in a wig at Yalkala and Rahya also spoke about this wig in their memoirs. “Disguised, accompanied by the artists of the working amateur circle, Vladimir Ilyich got on the train. Because of the heat in the carriage, the paint began streaking from his face. Annoyed, scolding the unfortunate actors, Lenin washed off the remnants of his makeup in the restroom, took off his wig and lay, covered with a cap, until the end of the road without raising his eyes. (Memoirs of Rakhya, “Projector” magazine, No. 3, January 1929). Before leaving Helsingfors for Vyborg, V.I. Lenin, for the sake of conspiracy, acquired another wig, with gray hair. He used it in Vyborg and Petrograd on the eve of October.