ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the counter-argument. The hypothesis that Lenin was given contra-indicated medicine in the morning of January 21st must be rejected as improbable, even if the Lermolo report is accepted in its entirety. Lenin may have believed he was being poisoned but he may have made a mistake. The feasibility of creating a stroke by medical means was doubtful. Such an undertaking might be theoretically feasible but in practice the smallest error could have devastating consequences. Psychological actions can be substituted for contra-indicated medicine that otherwise would be required to increase blood pressure and create a stroke. According to modern theories, there may be 'a psychosomatic factor in arteriosclerosis'. This theory stipulates that as a result of protracted anxiety or fear, the arterial masculature is constricting and impedes the disposal of cholesterol through the inner lining of the artery. Lenin may have been predestined by his heredity and his life as a revolutionary and a statesman to contract arteriosclerosis.
