Russian holidays

Vladimir A. Ryzhkov, a liberal in Parliament, said in an interview that it was time to rethink a calendar rife with absurdities. He favors abandoning Nov. 7, but opposes Nov. 4, since that date, too, would commemorate a violent struggle, not unity. Dropping Dec. 12 - Constitution Day - would be "one more signal that we do not support constitutional law," he said.

We may celebrate the Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution in November, but the struggle for social justice and equality, not to mention nationalist squabbles over the past, continues in Russia.