Kyrgyzstan restores Bolshevik holiday

Kyrgyzstan is grateful to the Bolsheviks

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- Going against the flow of other ex-Soviet states, Kyrgyzstan's parliament has voted to reinstate the annual anniversary of Russia's 1917 Bolshevik revolution as a public holiday.

A majority of the 60 deputies voted for the bill, Reuters news agency reported, saying their mountainous state had to be grateful to the Bolsheviks for ending the "genocide of the Kyrgyz nation" unleashed by tsarist Russia after a popular uprising in 1916.

A central Asian country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, Kyrgyzstan was annexed by Russia in 1864.

The republic dropped the biggest Communist-era celebration, marked on November 7, from its calendar in 1991 after gaining independence from Moscow.

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The Day of the Great Socialist Revolution is still a holiday in Russia, but now bears the neutral name of the Day of Reconciliation and Accord.

The Bolshevik revolution, which led to the birth of the Soviet Union, is still revered by communists as a "turning point in the history of mankind."

Over the past few years Kyrgyzstan has been one of the most progressive countries of the former Soviet Union, and has focused on carrying out market reforms.

Following a successful stabilization program, which lowered inflation from 88% in 1994 to 15% for 1997, attention is turning toward stimulating the country's growth.