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06.11.2024

October Revolution Day is celebrated in Belarus on November 7

Every year, on November 7 (old style – October 25), Belarus celebrates a national holiday — the Day of the October Revolution. We associate the numerous victories, achievements and labor achievements of our people since 1917 with this date which continue to be the subject of our special pride to this day.

Until 1991, November 7 was one of the main holidays of the USSR and was called the Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution.

On the night of November 7-8, 1917, an uprising took place in Petrograd. At the signal, which was a shot from the cruiser Aurora, armed workers, soldiers and sailors seized the Winter Palace, overthrew the Provisional Government of Russia and proclaimed the Power of the Soviets.

The cruiser Aurora in the October days of 1917Petrograd

The Revolution of 1917 became one of the most significant events of the 20th century and radically influenced the course of further history. People have received the right to work, to education, to rest, and the right to participate in the government of the country. Thanks to the October Revolution, the Belarusian people gained statehood, created economic and intellectual potential, preserved and enriched the national culture.

Throughout the Soviet era, November 7 was the "Red day of the calendar", which was marked by mandatory demonstrations of workers held in every city of the country.

What does the October Revolution mean in the history of Belarus?

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said during a working trip to Mogilev on November 5, 2021: "Smart" people in many countries have decided that the Day of the October Revolution is a bad day, a bad holiday. I don't think so. At least this is our story... the future can still be changed, corrected, but the past cannot be changed. Today we see that we did the right thing, filling the tradition of celebrating the Great October with new meaning."

History shows that it was after the October Revolution that the Belarusian statehood acquired a powerful socio‑political, socio‑economic, spiritual and cultural basis, on the basis of which we are developing now. Modern Belarus is a sovereign democratic legal social state, the historical successor of the BSSR.

Thanks to the principled position of our national leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, we have not abandoned the legacy of that era and have preserved all the best that was in the Soviet Union. We remember the lessons of history and learn from the experience of our ancestors.

And the main lesson of October is that the policy of the state should be wise, balanced, taking into account the interests of all segments of the population. It is being held in Belarus! And it's good that November 7 is celebrated as a public holiday. In addition, we invariably fill it with creative content, opening new metro stations, social and cultural facilities by this date. What's wrong with this tradition? We are convinced that this is exactly how it is necessary to preserve the historical memory of one of the most important events in Russian history.

Belarus is confidently following the way of development of a just social state, chosen in 1917 by our ancestors. Moreover, we are going without armed conflicts and wars, which many other republics of the former USSR faced. Because the Belarusian people and their leader Alexander Lukashenko are united in their desire to build a strong and prosperous Belarus.