Pro-regime and oppositional Communists brought flowers to Lenin’s monument (Photo)

• 10.11.2008, 13:30

Belarus is the only country at the entire post-Soviet space where the anniversary of the October revolution still remains the state holiday.

On November 7 several columns of the “great October’s” supporters marched to the monument of Lenin in Independence Square.

The first traditionally were members of the pro-regime Communist Party of Belarus, dilute by Young Communists from the Belarusian Republican Youth Union. Their picket had most members, probably several hundreds people. They had soviet and official flags of Belarus with them. They laid flowers. Stood for several minutes. However, there was no guard of honour or orchestra. Long speeches haven’t been said either. After congratulating each other with the holiday, participants of the rally went to “Stalin’s line”, “Nasha Niva” informs.

After that a small group of about 15 members of the organization “For democracy, social progress and justice” came. A young man with a badge “Speak Belarusian with me” was in the beginning of the column. Participants noted that “the new anniversary of the October revolution is celebrated by the country in the conditions of pseudo-democracy.” But they believe the country would return to the real socialism.

Then they came to lay flowers to the plate in memory of Sverdlov. One woman said, that according to her knowledge, there are plans to rename Sverdlov Street soon. This “backstabbing change of streets’ names” evoked a fiery response of the Communists, and they are set to “defend the historical truth”.

“How can these people accuse the opposition of being divided,” told one of the colleagues when another party of Communists came near the Lenin monument.

Communists from the All-Soviet Communist party of Bolsheviks were the most flamboyant as usual. There were a few dozens of them. They had traditional portraits of Lenin and Stalin, red flags, a banner “Down with capitalism”.

The thing one may like in the Communists is their optimism. Every year they pinpoint global tendencies which show that the death of capitalism and victory of socialism are inevitable. Last year they spoke about Socialists’ coming to power in Latin American countries, and this year about the global financial crisis.

“If you put a ruble or ten to the bank in the Soviet Union, they were not losing value even in 10 years,” the leader of the Bolsheviks said. The today’s situation in the country has been compared by him with the victory of “counter-revolution”, but the crisis will clear the air.

After Lenin’s monument Bolsheviks went to Dzerzhinsky’s bust monument.

The last part of the program was laying flowers by the member of the United Democratic Forces, the Party of Belarusian Communists. For the second year they come without flags or banners. They simply laid flowers.

There were no leaders with them. They say, Syarhei Kalyakin is on a trip, and his deputy Valery Ukhnalyou laid flowers to Lenin monument in Copenhagen on that day.

Members of the Party of Belarusian Communists were the only ones who came home after visiting the monument to Lenin, and not visited other leaders of revolution.

That’s how the celebration of November 7 looked like.

Photo by “Nasha Niva”, “Radio Svaboda”