crowd crush Lenin's Mausoleum St George the Martyr, Holborn Stalin's death arrest Red Square
Stalin's death was announced on 6 March. His body was embalmed, and then placed on display in Moscow's House of Unions for three days. The crowds of people coming to view the body were so large and disorganised that many people were killed in a crowd crush. At the funeral on 9 March, Stalin’s body was laid to rest in Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square; hundreds of thousands attended. That month featured a surge in arrests for "anti-Soviet agitation," as those celebrating Stalin's death came to police attention. The Chinese government instituted a period of official mourning for Stalin's death. A memorial service in his honour was also held at St George the Martyr, Holborn in London.
