Khrushchev's de-Stalinization efforts reached a climax as Soviet officials, led by Nikita Khrushchev, ousted Stalin's body from its revered spot inside Lenin's mausoleum. Citing "violations of Vladimir Lenin's precepts," they stripped Stalin of his sacred status and relegated his remains to a humble grave near the Kremlin Wall, marked only by a modest granite slab. This dramatic downgrading symbolized the Soviet Union's gradual rejection of Stalin's brutal legacy.