Their number was small and many were almost as old as the Bolshevik takeover itself. They dont have a lot else to be enthusiastic about, observed TIME Moscow correspondent Andrew Meier.
President Boris Yeltsin, who in Soviet times had observed the day alongside his Politburo colleagues saluting passing missiles, made a TV appeal for an end to divisions, and then hurried off to Beijing for a meeting with leaders of uh, the Politburo. The only part of Lenins legacy still intact on the 80th anniversary is the date: The Bolsheviks swept away the Czars 10-month Georgian calendar, commemorating their Great October Socialist Revolution on November 7.
Moscow was relatively quiet on the public holiday, now known as the Day of Reconciliation and Accord. Most people stayed home, and tonight theyll be drinking, says Meier. At least they can be sure of finding vodka in the stores these days.