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October Revolution anniversary officially celebrated in Belarus

The 90th anniversary of the October Revolution (the overthrow of a provisional government in Russia) was officially celebrated in Belarus on November 7.

In the morning, some 150 people took part in a flower-laying ceremony at the statue of Vladimir Lenin (Ulyanov) on Independence Square in Minsk to commemorate the leader of the Bolsheviks' coup d'etat on November 7, 1917, or October 25 Old Style, which was called the Great October Socialist Revolution in the Soviet era. Belarus is the only post-Soviet country where this date continues to be a state holiday.

The flowers were laid on behalf of the Communist Party of Belarus and the Union of Officers. Participants displayed Belarus’ state flags, red flags and signs saying, “For Socialism Revival!” and “Great October Means Equality of All Nations, Rule of Working People, Peaceful and Comfortable Life.”

Andrey Koval, deputy chairman of the Minsk city committee of the Communist Party, said in his address that Communists all over the world were celebrating the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution on this date. “As a result of the revolution, one-sixth of the world was given a new look, the former outlands of the Russian Empire, including Belarus, gained independence and the backward tsarist Russia was transformed into a highly cultured and economically developed country,” Mr. Koval said.

Despite the temporary retreat of socialism in Europe, its progress in the world continues and the future belongs to this path of development, he noted, mentioning China, Latin American countries, Cuba and North Korea as examples.

Mr. Koval called on all like-minded people to uphold the ideals of the October Revolution and support the Communist Party of Belarus.

“The 1917 October Revolution not only changed the fate of the huge country but also determined in many respects the historic path of development of all humankind,” Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in his address to the nation on the occasion of the holiday. “The revolution that occurred 90 years ago involved millions of people in the process of building a new society, which is, not in word but in action, free of exploitation, national oppression and inequality. Thanks to the triumph of Great October, the dream of many generations of Belarusians has come true – we have acquired an independent state open to friends.”

However, there is a different opinion in Belarus regarding the event. “The Bolsheviks themselves said that it was a coup d’etat, not a revolution,” historian Ihar Kuznyatsow told BelaPAN. “The Bolsheviks stole slogans from the Socialist Revolutionaries and forgot their promises to the people as soon as they came to power. The lessons of the October coup suggest that any seizure of power in a violent and undemocratic way will inevitably have negative consequences. Only a democratic evolutionary path of social development, where the value of human life is respected not only in word but also in deed, can create conditions for people’s normal life.”