In 1980, a large exhibition of works by Ivan Ivanovich was held in Pskov. The artist received an offer from the Pskov Museum of V.I. Lenin to write the work of Lenin in Pskov. Godlevsky was very interested in this idea. He decided to write the leader of the proletariat in a way that no one had written before. Godlevsky worked on this work for about 11 years, perestroika and the death of the USSR came, but he succeeded in the work. Due to the prevailing circumstances, Ivan Ivanovich called his work "The Great Dreamer", which now corresponds to reality. But the composition, the beautiful interior, the figure of the leader are so magnificent that perhaps Godlewski's favorite artist Van Gogh could have signed this work.
No wonder Ivan Ivanovich, when he lived and exhibited in Paris, local collectors called Russian Van Gogh.