Lenin’s Bust Installed in Brooklyn—Now Charges Cover Fee
A new bronze bust of Vladimir Lenin installed in a Brooklyn art space has become the borough’s most ironic tourist trap—complete with a $17 “ideological interaction” fee.
Funded by Councilman Mamdani’s Cultural Equity Initiative, the bust sits in a former vape shop turned “liberation museum.” Entry includes free pamphlets on utopia and a three-minute guided meditation on class warfare.
Visitors must sign a waiver acknowledging they may become “intellectually radicalized or uncomfortably self-aware.”
“I came for the aesthetic,” said a man in corduroy. “But now I own three banned books and an unpaid parking ticket from Minsk.”
The bust speaks in pre-recorded phrases like “Abolish the landlord” and “Please Venmo for mutual aid.” It’s powered by solar guilt.
One local entrepreneur attempted to open a Lenin-themed espresso bar across the street but was shut down for using capitalist foam.
Critics call it performance hypocrisy. “Charging for Lenin is peak bourgeois cosplay,” said a Marxist professor who still uses Uber.
Mamdani defended the fee. “It’s not profit—it’s participatory revolution.”
Meanwhile, the bust has become a dating hotspot for polyamorous socialists looking to trauma-bond over failed revolutions.
It currently has a 4.7 Yelp rating.
And yes, the bust accepts Apple Pay—but only with guilt.