Some more on November 7

Radio Libery recently ran a program on the celebration of the anniversary of the revolution of 1917 (see the full transcript if you can read Russian). This day was quite special in the USSR, not only as a historical date, but also as a milestone, a line drawn to calculate the preliminary results of the year. To fulfil the annual plan by this date was a matter of pride for every director of an enterprise or a kolkhoz, every party official planned a pompous and symbolic event. I prepared a random selection of events that happened on November 7 in various years. Some of these events were taken from the RL program.

1918

Lenin opens a concrete memorial plaque on the Red Square: "To those who fell in struggle for peace and brotherhood of nations". He also opens a monument to Marx and Engels. In the evening he speaks at the concert for the Cheka officials:

No wonder that we hear attacks on Cheka from both enemies and friends. […] It is important for us that Cheka puts into practice the dictatorship of the proletariat. There is no other way to liberation of the masses but the violent oppression of the exploters.

Premiere of "Mysteria-Buff" by Mayakovsky in Petrograd. In Tsaritsyn, 152 White Guard soldiers and officers were executed as a revenge for the murder of a worker.

1919

"Pravda" newspaper publishes the article "Economy and politics in the age of the dictatorship of the proletariat" by Lenin. Trotsky, awarded with the Order of the Red Banner reports of the liberation of the city Gdov.

1920

The Red Army begins attack of the positions of the White Guard in Crimea. The first electic power plant opened in the city Ust'-Sysolsk (where's it?). Vladimir Dzhunkovsky, former general-governor of Moscow, sentenced to the imprisonment in a concentration camp till the end of the Civil war, is "amnestied". He is released from the camp and sentenced to 5 years of the non-free labor. In 1937 he will be arrested again and in 1938 — executed.

1921

Lenin publishes the article "On the meaning of gold now and after the victory of socialism", where he promises that "when we win all over the world, I think, we will make gold lavatories on the streets of some large cities." In the evening, Lenin attended a ballet where Isadora Duncan danced under "The Internationale" and shouted: "Bravo, bravo, miss Duncan!" In Crimea, The All-Crimean Constituent Congress of the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', Soldiers' and Sailors' Deputies begins.

1922

The Moscow Comintern radiotelephone station begins work. The Far Eastern Republic is abolished. Trotsky commented: "Russia has got back the road to the Pacific."

1923

The OGPU (the new name of Cheka) presents a report to the Politbureau of the Communist Party, where they ascertain that "the economic position of the workers has deteriorated", the influence of the anti-Soviet elements has increased, the workers are discontent because the bureaucrats have better food supply, the peasants starve.

1924

OGPU reports that "one of the recent achievements was the introduction of agents among the clergy and religious citizens. The number of spies in Russia has increased by 6 times in 1924. […] Also, one thousand of agents among the clerics were prepared who are ready to convert to atheism at any moment."

1925

In the end of November OGPU reported of the strikes: "In November, there were 11 strikes among the metallurgy workers, where 944 people participated (in the last year there were 10 strikes and 616 participants. […] The number of strikes among the textile workers has increased from 9 in October to 10 in November, the number of participants grew from 347 to 2535."

1926

The emigrant pro-Kerensky newspaper "Dni" congratulates the readers: "One year less till the liberation of Russia!"

1927

The Communist opposition protests afte Trotsky was expelled by the Central Committee. The demonstrators were dispersed by force. "The sortie of the opposition has failed", wrote the newspaper Izvestiya.

1929

Stalin writes in "Pravda": "We are becoming the country of metal, automobiles, tractors. And when the put the USSR in a car and the peasants in a tractor, may the venerable capitalists try to catch up with us!"

1934

The first automatic kerosene dispenser installed at a kerosene booth in Moscow. It was broken on the same day, dismantled and taken away.

1936

10 astronomers of the Pulkovo observatory are arrested. Nikolay Kozyrev was found guilty in the following crimes: he was a proponent of the theory of the universe expansion, thinks that Yesenin is a good poet and Dunayevsky is a bad composer, disagrees with the opinion of Engels that "Newton was an inductive ass". Kozyrev was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released 5 years later. Three of these astronomers were executed.

1937

During the anniversary banquet Stalin says: "Anyone who encroaches by his actions and thoughts — yes, thoughts! — upon the unity of the proletarian state, will be ruthlessly destroyed!"

1938

Marshal Blukher was killed when interrogated by Cheka. "Pravda" and "Izvestiya" publish the article "Night over Europe" by Ilya Erenburg, where he writes about the inability of the European countries to oppose fascism. Soon, when the relations between USSR and the Nazi Germany changed, the article was banned.

1939

Vyacheslav Molotov, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, says: "The rulers of Poland were proud of the stability of their country and the might of their army. However, one blow of the German army, and then the Red Army, was enough get rid of this abnormal child of the Versailles treaty, that lived by exploiting the people of other nations."

1947

Stalin is proclaimes the honorary citizen of Budapest, as a sign of gratitude for the liberation of fascism.

1957

During the military parade, the Soviet wonder, 20-meter long, 420mm mortar is demonstrated. The Western engineers were sure that this was a fake gun. In some way, they were right. It worked, but the mass production turned out to be impossible.

1967

The first color TV broadcast — the anniversary parade.

1977

A group of Moscow art students tear and throw away the red flag from a building. Perhaps, they were just mhaving fun, but they were sent down from the college. In Uralsk, in the night someone poured tincture of valerian on the tribune on the city square. In the morning, when the demonstrations had to begin, the tribune was surrounded by hordes of stray cats. The celebration was cancelled.