The body of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will rest in a glass case on public display. Forever.
At least, so said his deputy, Nicolas Maduro.
While the idea may seem alien to some, Chavez will be the latest in a line of leaders whose remains have been embalmed and put on show in a glass casket.
Perhaps the best known is Russia's Vladimir Lenin, whose body still lies in a mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square, nearly 90 years after his death.
Others include Stalin, China's Mao Zedong, Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh, and North Korea's founding leader, Kim Il Sung.
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'Magic has gone'
But even with the best of skill, an embalmed body will eventually start to look more waxy or plasticky -- as has been remarked of Lenin's face during his long repose.
It reportedly is under a high-maintenance regime that involves the frequent reapplication of embalming fluids.
Despite this, Lenin is no longer looking as good as he used to, said Tumarkin, who has viewed him several times over the decades in the gloom of his 1920s-style mausoleum, decorated in red, black and white.
It used to make an impression in the Soviet period, when the long lines of visitors leading up to the sarcophagus created a sense of reverence akin to that of a pilgrimage, she said.
But on more recent visits, Tumarkin found much has changed.
"You don't have that any more. You don't have the lines (of people) any more. You just wander in and it's like being in a wax museum -- the magic has long since gone."
It's perhaps a word of warning that Venezuela's leaders should heed as they plan for eternity.
