PHOTOS: Praise, protests and ambivalence mark 100 years of Russian Revolution

By:
On:
In: Russian revolution
Tagged: , , , , , ,

Rallies draped in red flags in Moscow marked the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution on Tuesday. But despite the protests, past crimes and faded memories have left some Russians ambivalent about the centenary.

November 7 is the centenary of the second of two 1917 revolutions, called the Bolshevik Movement, which overthrew the Provisional Government that had ended the Tsarist autocracy eight months earlier and birthed the Soviet Union.

Protesters attend a rally organized by the Russian Communist Party to mark the centenary of the Red October Revolution in central Moscow on November 7. Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

“A century later, the world is still discussing the consequences of the Bolshevik revolution. But in Russia, no one seems the least bit interested,” as memories fade and Russians become more preoccupied with their daily lives, writes Oliver Carroll, Moscow correspondent for The Independent. Or as a columnist for RT In other words, “Westerners are more into” nostalgia for historical events than Russians.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a Wall of Mourning sculpture that remembers the hundreds of thousands of people killed under communist leader Joseph Stalin. “This terrible past must not be erased from our national memory and cannot be justified by anything,” Putin said at the ceremony. Critics say Putin is cracking down on political opponents, although the Russian leader remains hugely popular in the country.

Protesters in Moscow carry a portrait of the founder of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin. Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Protesters in Moscow carry a portrait of the founder of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin. Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

Russian historian Irina Shcherbakova told Deutsche Welle that Russians pass by reminders of the revolution in memorials and street names every day. The body of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin still is on the display in a mausoleum in Moscow’s Red Square. These days, however, “nobody wants revolutions and uprisings instead of order and peace,” she said.

On Tuesday, the Communist Party held a parade and rally in Moscow, as seen in this video posted by Financial Times Moscow correspondent Max Seddon:

Alec Luhn, Moscow correspondent for The Telegraph, captured these images of Spanish Communists displaying Catalan flags in Moscow:

Another flag featured the design of the breakaway Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine:

Some young people chanted “Russia without Putin” and “Today with a poster, tomorrow with an assault rifle”:

“The red banner will once again be hoisted over Russia!” said Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, at the rally:

See more photos from the day:

A protester takes a selfie with a portrait of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Photo by Andrei Volkov/Reuters

A protester takes a selfie with a portrait of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Photo by Andrei Volkov/Reuters

Supporters of the Russian Communist Party march in the northern city of Petrozavodsk, Russia, on November 7. Photo by Vladimir Larionov/Reuters

Russian Communist Party supporters march through the northern Russian city of Petrozavodsk on November 7. Photo by Vladimir Larionov/Reuters

A woman in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia, holds a sign that reads: "Stalin is our father, the fatherland is our mother, the Soviet power is our sister and our friend." Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters

A woman from the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia, holds a sign that reads: ‘Stalin is our father, the fatherland is our mother, Soviet power is our sister and our friend’. Photo by Yuri Maltsev/Reuters

Russia used the Julian calendar until 1918, so the Bolshevik uprising was also known as the October Revolution. Photo by Andrei Volkov/Reuters