Kolia Vasin’s petition for the “John Lennon Church of Rock-n-Roll” (Khram Rok-n-rolla imeni Dzhona Lennona.) in St. Petersburg (April 1992).

An official petition for the creation of the so-called “John Lennon Temple of Rock-n-Roll” (“Khram Rok-n-rolla imeni Dzhona Lennona”) in St. Petersburg, conceived by the self-described “Beatlelologist” Kolia Vasin, a major personality and driver behind the formation of Leningrad's rock music community. Vasin considered himself the official Soviet historian of The Beatles and was responsible for popularizing “The Fab Four” in the USSR. He was an avid collector of Beatles memorabilia and promoted their music in Russia in many ways, including translating their song lyrics into Russian for Leningrad’s underground rock musicians. A self-proclaimed Soviet hippie, Beatles fan and vocal pacifist, The Temple of John Lennon was a life-long dream of Vasin’s, since he believed that The Beatles, and John Lennon especially, were akin to deities by way of their colossal influence on Soviet society through inspiring its underground rock music movement. In fact, Vasin maintained that Perestroika was only possible with the aid of The Beatles and Russian rock-and-roll. Emboldened by the surge of new religious ideas and organizations flooding Russia immediately following the collapse of the USSR (see artifact #00158), Vasin decided that the budding free-market economy and the newfound freedoms of religious expression make for an opportune time to solicit support for his temple. The above is the petition Vasin designed for the construction of The John Lennon Temple of Rock-and-roll, in which the Beatles historian appeals to “entrepreneurs, officials, and thinkers” to take part in what he calls, “the most soulful event of our time.” The wording in his appeal is rendered with irony and elements of parody of the Soviet official jargon, despite the project making up the bulk of Vasin’s life’s work. Vasin’s commitment to Soviet hippie culture is evident in the temple’s official heart-shaped stamp with a peace sign drawn inside and the words “All You Need Is Love,” referencing Beatles’ song lyrics. Unfortunately, Vasin’s dream never came to full fruition, despite a mural and plaque dedicated to the temple being installed at the Pushkinskaya 10 Art Center in St. Petersburg, where Vasin housed his Beatles Museum, and where an influential underground artists' squat was once located. Vasin died of an apparent suicide at the age of in August of 2018, having left a suicide note that read “it's impossible to live in a country where nobody supports a Temple of John Lennon.”