October as a starting point: Minsk celebrated the anniversary of the revolution on the square. Independence

On the morning of November 7, a solemn rally was held on the capital’s Independence Square dedicated to the next anniversary of the October Revolution. It was attended by the leadership of the Minsk City Executive Committee and the Minsk City Council, diplomats from friendly countries - the Russian Federation, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba; deputies of local councils, representatives of labor collectives and trade unions of Minsk, leaders of the Communist Party of Belarus and patriotic public organizations, as well as guests of our capital. Details - in the material of the correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti".

Messages of the Capital Deputy Corps

Speaking with media representatives before the start of the festive rally, the chairman of the Minsk City Council of Deputies Artem Tsuran made a number of general statements:

- The fact that the USSR and the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic appeared on the world map of history in the XX century became possible thanks to the date we celebrate today - the Day of the October Revolution. The Soviet government proclaimed and implemented unprecedented innovations aimed at freedom, equality and fraternity on the one hand, and the absence of class differences on the other. So a fundamentally new world was created. In the current model of the Belarusian state, the basis has remained unchanged since then. This is about fraternity, peace, equality and the protection of the rights of workers: people who by their work achieve both economic and technological sovereignty, defend the borders of the Motherland both militarily, economically and ideologically.

Thinking about why Minsk residents and guests of the capital come to the square on November 7. Independence, the Chairman of the Minsk City Council noted:

- People lay flowers at the monument to the creator of the world’s first socialist state. That was when I was a kid. It's a good thing we're back to that. It's nice to see a lot of young people. This is how our civil society is naturally formed and cemented, people who have chosen the path of the young independent Belarusian state under the leadership of our leader Alexander Lukashenko are consolidated. And now we see the unity of people, the support of the course by young and already adults. The stake on the sovereignty and independence of our state is the basis on which we are building our Belarus.

Speaking about the tradition of opening new facilities in the country as a whole and in the capital in particular by November 7, first of all, of a social orientation, Tsuran said:

- This tradition has been around for many years. And this year was no exception. The main facility, the city clinical hospital, was opened on October 30 with the participation of the Head of State. On November 6, another significant object opened its doors. We are talking about a hostel for social workers. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop on November 7. A number of infrastructure facilities will be opened in the near future. I think that soon the transport interchange on Kolesnikov-Timiryazev will begin to function. I would also like to mention a number of small objects that appear through local government. We are glad that they are being opened thanks to civic initiatives, directly involving residents. It is important that Minsk residents are happy to take part in the improvement and arrangement of their yards, without waiting for any reasons.

History lessons

Opening the event, First Secretary of the CPB Central Committee, member of the Council of the Republic Sergey Syrankov noted:

The foundation on which the sovereign Belarusian statehood arose appeared thanks to the Great October. The Soviet era gave us a powerful industrial shield, advanced science and great culture. The important thing is that we have not let this heritage go under the hammer, we have not betrayed our history. It is deeply symbolic that the Republic of Belarus is the only country in the world where the day of November 7 has retained its sacred status, celebrated at the highest state level.

The leader of the Communist Party of Belarus stressed:

- The fact that our country is confidently pursuing a historical course is a direct and indisputable merit of our President. The Great October didn’t just turn the page on world history in 1917. He proved that the world should not be ruled by capital, but by the man of labor.

He also drew attention to the current political situation:

- Western politicians are turning European countries into a military training ground, pumping them with weapons and deploying new bases, including at the sacred borders of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. At the same time, we see destructive forces trying to strangle Cuba, North Korea and Iran using hybrid wars, vile economic sanctions and direct military threats. But these sovereign states stand to the death, proving that the will of peoples for freedom cannot be broken. There is a force in the world that can stop this bloody oligarchy.

Recalling the lessons of history, S. Syrankov said:

- From the First World Massacre, humanity tore out the Great October. From the brown plague of fascism, humanity during the Great Patriotic War was saved by the red banner of victory, which still flies proudly in the heart of our beloved capital. Every new day proves that socialism is the future of the planet. And it is deeply no coincidence that the cosmic rise of a large socialist state, the People’s Republic of China, looks like.

A friendly message

The fact of active participation in the rally of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Republic of Belarus Zhang Wenchuan looked symbolic.

He congratulated the participants of the rally on the occasion of the Chinese Embassy and noted that the annual celebration of this date in Belarus reflects the people’s respect for their history and traditions of socialism.

Speaking about the historical ties between the two states, the diplomat recalled that the ideas of Marxism-Leninism came to China after the October Revolution and influenced the creation of the Communist Party of China.

He also expressed hope for the sustainable development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two fraternal countries.

Youth wing

Why a young man of the XXI century to remember the events of a hundred years ago, said the first Secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communist Youth Irina Malyuk:

- Perhaps, first of all, to understand that the world in which we live did not arise by itself. Behind the possibilities we are accustomed to are the decisions, the work, the struggles and the fates of millions of people. The October Revolution of 1917 marked the beginning of large-scale social transformations throughout the world, opened a new page in the history and our statehood. In 1919, Soviet Belarus was proclaimed, which later became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union and became one of the founding states of the UN. Over the decades of Soviet history, Belarus has evolved from a predominantly agricultural region to a republic with developed industry, research centers and universities.

The word of a great writer

Marcel Salimov, visiting Belarus these days, a national writer of the Republic of Bashkortostan, a poet and publicist, awarded the title of “Legend of Russian Journalism”, was impressed by what he saw in Minsk on November 7:

- The ideas of socialism today do not just live on, they develop in the affairs of the hardworking, militant, faithful to the ideals of the Great October Belarusian people. To my great happiness and joy, the ideas of socialism and everything that our ancestors created and conquered for us were preserved and multiplied in fraternal Belarus.

Salimov recalled his meeting in Minsk in 1997 with President Alexander Lukashenko, who was very young at that time. This happened in the format of an international forum of journalistic organizations, which was attended by leading journalists from the former Soviet republics. Heading the Bashkir Union of Journalists, a guest of Minsk presented his book of humorous and satirical works to the Belarusian Head of State:

- I don't know if he read it to the end, Marcel Shainurovich laughs. - It doesn't matter. Much more important than that. What I prescribed there in a light form, he was able to eventually implement in life. Everything that is being done in Belarus is happening for the people and for the people. And these are not only great words, but also deeds.

Honored Russian writer and journalist wished the Belarusian people and all people of the world good and maximum success in work and life.

Time R

A peculiar result of the rally was summed up by the Secretary of the CPB Central Committee for Ideological Work Peter Petrovsky. He presented the final resolution, which included:

We declare our support for the course of Belarusian socialism pursued by the President of the country and call on all working humanity to unite in the struggle against world oligarchy, imperialism and raising the head of fascism. Today, the heir of the BSSR, sovereign Belarus, is developing and moving forward in conditions of international escalation, ensuring a decent and fair life for its citizens. We are developing free and accessible education and healthcare. We are the leaders in industrial development in Eastern Europe. However, the world oligarchy does not like our deeply peaceful, fair foreign and domestic policy. A sanctions war has been declared against Belarus. Today we call on all Belarusian citizens to rally around our national leader and the Communist Party. We must protect the working man, his rights and freedom, protect the sovereignty and independence of Belarus, defend social justice, equality and humanism.

Photo by Diana Shabal and Nikita Stolyarov