For some Belarusians, November 7 remains the reason to come out to the streets with red flags and put flowers to Lenin monument.
The 96th anniversary of the Great October Revolution is marked today. Belarus stays one of the last countries that still celebrate November 7 as a national holiday at the state level. Many objects in Belarusian cities are named after the October Revolution, including parks, factories, one of the central squares and a metro station in Minsk.
People of the older generation keep insisting thatthe role of the Soviet era in the development of Belarus was positive.
Leader of the Communist Party of Belarus and Deputy Chairman of Minsk City Executive Committee Ihar Karpenka has said in a comment to BelaPAN that November 7 remains an important holiday for Belarus as during the Soviet reign "factories, plants, enterprises were built up, educational policy developed actively". In Karpenka's opinion, Belarusian statehood and sovereignty develop "only thanks to the Great October holiday".
However, not all the elderly people have the same vision. Homel resident Yury Rubtsou conducted a sort of a protest action on November 7 - he came out to the street wearing a T-shirt "For Belarus Without Contracts". At about 9.30 a.m. he was taken to the police station "for personal identification", for 20 minutes. Then they release the man but didn't let him come close to Lenin monument during the Communists' demonstration.
Euroradio prepared a November 7 photo report for you: