May Day

A woman greets Russian communist supporters from a window with a red cloth during the traditional May Day rally in central Moscow on May 1, 2011.

May Day traditionally celebrates the rights of the proletariat in the former Soviet Union countries. Crowds waving balloons and blue or red flags gathered in cities from the Pacific port of Vladivostok to Moscow in carefully-choreographed rallies reminiscent of the Soviet era when May 1 was one of the most venerable holidays celebrating international socialism.

Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov / AFP Photo

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