Diego Rivera's Lenin is wearing an unusual hat...

Lenin in 1922 (?)

Normally Lenin would wear a cap with a significant shade, but in late 1923 this picture was taken, showing a different, more roomy hat, with just a small shade:

Lenin at Gorki, summer 1923

And towards the end, when winter had come to Gorki, the hat looks more like a fur wrap...

Lenin towards the end...

Check out The Lenin Museum in Finland for more information...

It has been rumored that because of the persistent and painful headaches that plagued Lenin since 1921, he would sometimes wear a roomy hat that contained cold wraps to reduce discomfort associated with his headaches, which were presumably associated with poor blood circulation to his brain.  This image of Lenin was in stark conflict with the image of Lenin as the Bolshevik Visionary and Leader, and was suppressed by the Soviet goverment.  In 1994 Dmitri Volkogonov published the book "LENIN  a new biography", and provided a more insightful picture of Lenin in his last two years, based upon information in the Soviet archives, which by then had been made available for information gathering and publication.

Dmitri Volkogonov, "LENIN   a new biography", The Free Press, 1994, p408.

Nina Tumarkin, "LENIN LIVES!", Harvard University Press, 1997, p278

For more information or comments send e-mail to fredrik2@inreach.com

Many years later, on the 26th of July, 1962, back in Cuba, the local revolution is being celebrated:

Celebrating the Cuban Revolution

Looking more closely, a familiar face appears...

Fidel Castro watching a parade in celebration of the Cuban Revolution

Yes, that is Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader that liberated poor Cubans from the oppressive regime of Batista through the Cuban Revolution in 1956 to 1959.

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro

Here is another picture of Fidel Castro, this time with Che Guevara, the Central American freedom fighter.  Fidel would often wear a beret, similar to the hat Diego Rivera's Lenin is wearing, and Che is almost always remembered wearing a beret.

Che Guevara by Korda (March 1960)

Che knew of Lenin and Trotsky, the Russian Revolutionaries.  Lenin was the founder of the Soviet Union in 1917, and became ill in 1922 and died in 1924.