It’s the late 1980s, and an older man is finally able to leave the Soviet Union for the first time in his life. His wife and son had already left and settled in the States, and he’s finally able to go and join them.
At the Soviet border, the guard looks through his luggage and finds a bust of Lenin. “What is this?” he asks.
The old man gets agitated and answers: “Don’t ask me what this is, ask me who this is! This is Vladimir Lenin, the great hero that fought for the rights of the people in our country, and I’m bringing him with me to remind myself to continue that battle in America!”
The guard lets him through, and he is able to get on the plane to America. Once he arrives, the American border guard goes through his luggage and finds the bust of Lenin.
“What is this?” he asks.
Again, the old man gets all agitated. “Don’t ask me what this is, ask me who this is! This is Vladimir Lenin, the fiendish monster who destroyed my beautiful homeland! I am bringing him with me to remind myself of the mistakes of the past.”
The guard lets him through, and he is able to get into the country, where he takes a taxi to the house his wife and son are staying in. After some very warm greetings, the son sees the bust of Lenin, and asks, “Papa, who is this?”
The man smiles: “My son, don’t ask me who this is, ask me what this is!”
“It’s 18 pounds of gold!”