Communists in Moscow are sexing up Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin to make him appealing to a new generation of Russians.

The revamped revolutionary is shown as a young man alongside a glamorous and ultra-modern but nameless female ideologist on new political posters from the party which ruthlessly ruled the USSR for seven decades.

Dressed appropriately in red, the aim is to turn Lenin into a 'sex symbol' for younger voters, according to the Communist Party's official artist Igor Petrygin-Rodionov.

The posters, which also spice up Karl Marx and Josef Stalin, are aimed at boosting the party's chances against Vladimir Putin's all-powerful United Russia grouping in coming parliamentary elections in Russia.

The revamped revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (left) is shown as a young man alongside a glamorous and ultra-modern but nameless female ideologist as well as a casual looking Karl Marx

Style Icon: Lenin appears to have been airbrushed and re-stylised in a flat cap and red baggy t-shirt

To make the crusty Communists 'relevant' to the modern age, a traditional bald Lenin is shown crouched over a laptop while Stalin ditches his trademark pipe for an electronic cigarette and a slogan: 'Keep up to date Comrades.'

Meanwhile, a leather jacket-clad Marx warns ominously - in the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger - 'I'll be back.'

The main posters of the boyish Lenin and his Communist chic female companion carries to slogan: 'There is such a party.'

Putin meanwhile is cheekily shown wearing a crown - like a modern day Romanov Tsar - along with the derogatory wording: 'What did we struggle for? What did we fight for?'

Another implies it is impossible for the Reds, now the second party in parliament, to oust him.

An black and white picture of Putin carries the slogan: 'The election is over, forget it.' Somewhat ironic from a part that never permitted any challenge to its rule in Soviet times.

These images of Putin are unlikely to be widely distributed across authoritarian Kremlin-controlled Russia, political experts believe.

Putin meanwhile is cheekily shown wearing a crown - like a modern day Romanov Tsar - along with the derogatory wording: 'What did we struggle for? What did we fight for?'

Karl Marx appears to be wearing a rather fetching leather jumper with an expensive looking watch on his wrist. In contrast, Vladimir Putin has been pictured in a smart suit

On the Lenin makeover, the artist explained: 'Writer Maxim Gorky wrote that when he once saw Lenin without a suit he was surprised to see his muscles,' explained the artist.

'Since the 1930s, the image of our leader has become less natural.

'I wanted to 'reanimate' him a bit, to show that he was a beautiful and educated man and this is why he succeeded.

'Charisma means energy, including sexual energy. It is youth, smartness and brain. He is a character full of energy, maybe even a sex symbol.'

The party's general secretary Vadim Soloviyov explained that the election campaign will be focused on 'a new generation of voters who know a little about' Lenin, the brutal revolutionary who founded the USSR in 1917 after the fall of the Romanov autocratic dynasty.

'They will accept his image via the symbols recognisable for them. Our age demands it. We will count on this image during our Duma (parliament) election campaign.

'For us Lenin is not just a man but also a symbol of the Communist Party.'

Former Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin is shown puffing on a electronic cigarette rather than his old pipe

The posters appear to be an attempt to bring Russia's revolutionary red heroes into the modern day

In the Soviet era, Lenin - whose spooky embalmed remains are still on display in a mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow 92 years after his death - became a virtual diety, his statues in every town and city.

Sexologist Evgeny Kulgavchuk insisted that a male leader must be attractive for women 'who want to follow a strong man'.

He claimed the party's PR gurus were simply rebranding one of the most famous Russian images of 'Grandad Lenin'.

The aim is to show the October Revolution as fun for a modern audience.

'Seriously, it can help to recruit young people as supporters of the party. It will be easier for youngsters to identify themselves with the image of young (Lenin).'

But vice-president of the Centre of Political Technologies, Rostislav Turovsky, warned: 'The party has been trying to reach a young audience for a good while.'

And it has largely failed.

'The effect of this campaign will be modest,' he said.

Another Russian political expert disagreed.

'The main thing in nowadays political advertisement is to create an emotion, so you post something to your friend or simply re-post it.