Contrasting styles of 'Lenin' protests in Belarus

RFE/RL
8 November 2016, 23:42

In the Belarusian capital, a Lenin monument was moved from inside the Minsk Tractor Works to a public location in time for the 99th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

The 99th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution saw Lenin statues subjected to protests and vandalism in two cities in Belarus on November 7.

An actor dressed as Lenin -- leader of the Bolsheviks and later the Soviet Union -- addressed the crowd in Minsk.

Elderly women marched and sang before the Minsk ceremony. Belarus is the only country of the former U.S.S.R. that marks November 7 as a national holiday.

In a protest against the celebrations, Malady Front (Youth Front) opposition movement leader Zmitser Dashkevich made his way into the thick of the crowd before lifting a sign with a slightly modified version of a notorious Lenin quote that said: "The more representatives of religious clergy that are shot, the better."

Dashkevich and unidentified associates shouted, "Shame! Shame!" before being attacked by the head of Belarus's pro-government Youth Union, Syarhey Klishevich (lower right).

As Klishevich attacked Dashkevich, Klishevich reportedly shouted communist slogans.

Riot police then moved in to arrest Dashkevich.

The Minsk ceremony continued slightly behind schedule, but the day wasn't over for Lenin.

In the city of Lida, around 175 kilometers from Minsk, activists vandalized the town's Lenin statue with red paint.

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