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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 8 november 2017
Communist supporters mark Bolshevik Revolution centennial

By V. ISACHENKOV Tuesday, a regular working state television marked the that Putin appears to see of encouraging massive
Associated Press day, unlike in Soviet times event with a slew of docu- a parallel between his tight demonstrations against him
MOSCOW (AP) — Unlike when it was marked as the mentaries about the revo- controls over the Russian in Moscow in 2011-2012,
the grand celebrations of nation’s main holiday. lution and lavish biopics political scene and the and he also has blamed
the Soviet past, the Kremlin Washington for master-
skirted Tuesday’s centen- minding a series of uprisings
nial of the Bolshevik Revolu- in Middle East, North Africa
tion — an anniversary that and ex-Soviet republics.
drew only a routine dem- “The government has a
onstration by Communist fantastic, paranoid fear of
devotees. revolution, and the mem-
The government’s attitude ory of what happened 100
reflects both a wide split in years ago still hurts,” liberal
public perception of the politician Leonid Gozman
revolution and the Krem- said in his blog.
lin’s uneasiness about the The Kremlin’s reluctance to
events in 1917 that herald- commemorate the still-po-
ed more than seven de- larizing event reflects deep
cades of the Communist divisions over the revolution
Party rule. in Russian society. A recent
President Vladimir Putin has nationwide poll showed
bemoaned the 1991 col- public opinion on whether
lapse of the Soviet Union the revolution was positive
as the “greatest geopoliti- or negative for Russia was
cal catastrophe of the 20th split almost evenly.
century,” but he also has Even as the Kremlin ig-
deplored the revolution nored the centennial, thou-
that destroyed the Russian sands of Communist Party
empire and triggered a Communist party supporters carry Andy Warhol-style portraits of Cuban Revolution hero Ernesto members and supporters
devastating civil war that “Che” Guevara, center, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin, right, during a demonstration marking marched along Moscow’s
killed millions. the 100th anniversary of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. downtown Tverskaya Street
“Let us ask ourselves: Was Thousands of Communist demonstrators marked the centennial of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution carrying portraits of Soviet
Tuesday by marching across downtown Moscow.
it not possible to follow an (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) leaders Vladimir Lenin and
evolutionary path rather Josef Stalin.
than go through a revo- Putin’s ambivalence is root- about revolutionary lead- czarist government’s efforts During Soviet times, Nov. 7
lution?” Putin said in a ed in his desire to claim the ers. to rein in the revolutionary was a major state holiday,
speech last month. heritage of both the czar- All those productions made movement. with huge military parades
“Could we not have ist and the Soviet empires. a particular emphasis of “He sees his punitive mea- and demonstrations on
evolved by way of gradu- While he can’t denounce the alleged role by Germa- sure as the continuation Red Square. Russia stopped
al and consistent forward an event that is still revered ny in triggering the revolu- of the inconsequent and celebrating it after the 1991
movement rather than at by many of his supporters, tion by funding the Bolshe- luckless struggle of law en- Soviet collapse.
a cost of destroying our the Russian leader disdains viks — the line that echoes forcement agencies of the The Communists have con-
statehood and the ruthless any uprisings and tends to the Kremlin’s allegations of Russian empire against the tinued to honor the date,
fracturing of millions of hu- see them as work of foreign the U.S. meddling in Russian looming collapse of the and the authorities allowed
man lives?” spy agencies. affairs today. state, and hopes to do them to march close to the
Putin made no mention of While the Kremlin has Alexander Baunov, an better,” Baunov wrote in a Kremlin to mark the anni-
the revolution while attend- avoided any celebrations analyst with the Carnegie commentary. versary, but kept them off
ing official meetings on of the centennial, Russian Moscow Center, noted Putin has accused the U.S. Red Square. q

10 arrests in French, Swiss raids over suspected attack plot

By ANGELA CHARLTON tained. leged Islamic radicaliza- but neither City Hall nor opened a probe in July fo-
JAMEY KEATEN Counterterrorism investiga- tion, according to the ju- the judicial official would cused on suspicious activity
Associated Press tors detained nine people dicial official and a French confirm reports that the by a person in Switzerland
PARIS (AP) — Ten people between the ages of 18 police official. Two are suspected attack plot tar- using the encrypted Tele-
suspected of using en- and 65 in France and one brothers, the officials said. geted Nice. gram network, according
crypted social networks to person in Switzerland, ac- The Swiss suspect, who was The city remains scarred to the French judicial of-
prepare a possible attack cording to a French judicial among those arrested in after the July 2016 truck at- ficial. The suspect, based
were arrested Tuesday dur- official. The official, who France, allegedly had ties tack that killed 86 people in Switzerland, had com-
ing counterterrorism opera- spoke on condition of ano- to a 13-year-old who was watching a Bastille Day fire- municated with people in
tions in France and Swit- nymity to discuss an ongo- arrested earlier on suspi- works display from a sea- France on social networks
zerland aimed at clarifying ing investigation, would not cion of plotting a knife at- side promenade. about unspecified violent
details of the alleged plot, provide details about their tack, the judicial official A French security official acts, the official said.
according to French offi- identities. said. said the alleged plot did Among the French towns
cials. The suspects were be- The mayor of the French not appear to be fully de- targeted in the operation
A 23-year-old Colombian ing questioned following Riviera city of Nice, Chris- veloped but authorities were Aix-en-Provence in
woman and 27-year-old searches of properties in tian Estrosi, thanked police acted Tuesday out of con- southern France and Men-
Swiss man, both targets in the Paris suburbs and in for the arrests. His office cern that the group was ton on the Mediterranean
a Swiss investigation of the southeastern France. Some said Estrosi was speaking moving toward action. coast, as well as Paris sub-
Islamic State group, were of the suspects previously with France’s interior minis- In parallel to the Swiss inves- urbs, according to a French
among the suspects de- had been flagged for al- ter about the investigation, tigation, French authorities security official.q