MOSCOW – The Russian specialists who care for the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin are ready to help in the process of embalming the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

“The institute’s experts have the necessary knowledge, technology and experience to perform such procedures,” a member of the Lenin’s Tomb team told the Interfax news agency.

“As soon as they make the relevant decisions on the interstate level and all the reports are received, the specialists will be ready to travel to the site and offer their Venezuelan colleagues all the necessary help,” the source added.

Venezuela’s acting president, Nicolas Maduro, announced last Thursday that the body of Chavez would rest in a glass coffin where he will remain “eternally” embalmed to be exhibited to the public.

Chavez, 58, died last Tuesday of a heart attack after battling cancer for 21 months.

For about two months every year, Lenin’s remains are subjected to a series of chemical and biological procedures to guarantee that they remain incorruptible.

The mausoleum where Lenin is interred has been a pilgrimage site since his death, a tradition that had been maintained despite the fall of the Soviet Union, although every year the number of visits declines and more Russians raise their voices calling for an end to this “anachronistic cult.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Lenin’s remains will rest in the mausoleum on Moscow’s Red Square until a clear