Under “Palestinian flags,” Russian communists, led by Zyuganov, held a “commemorative event on the 108th anniversary of the October Revolution” – video November 7, 2025

Moscow, November 7, 2025

At the Theater Square near the monument to Karl Marx, the annual event of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation took place. The occasion was the 108th anniversary of the “October Revolution.” Party activists, Komsomol members, and State Duma deputies led by Gennady Zyuganov gathered in the center of Moscow.

The communists laid flowers at the mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin, marched through the square with red banners and portraits of revolutionary leaders, and then held a rally. Everything was as usual — down to the last visual detail. In the crowd of party flags and banners, “Palestinian flags” suddenly appeared. Several large canvases with green-black-white stripes fluttered next to the red banners of the CPRF.

Who brought this symbolism is unknown. The party’s official reports did not mention it. But the fact itself sparked discussion even among supporters of leftist movements: why were the flags of a foreign country needed at the Russian “October anniversary”?

Who is Gennady Zyuganov

Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov is a Russian politician, chairman of the Central Committee of the CPRF, and leader of its faction in the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

Born on June 26, 1944 in the Oryol region, he graduated from a pedagogical institute, worked as a teacher, and then as a party functionary in the CPSU. After the collapse of the USSR, he became one of the founders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which he has led since 1993.

Zyuganov is a deputy of all convocations of the State Duma and a four-time candidate for the presidency of Russia. His party remains the largest parliamentary “opposition,” but in fact supports the Kremlin’s policies, including the war against Ukraine.

Ideologically, he combines Soviet communism, Russian nationalism, and Orthodox conservatism. In recent years, he has actively used anti-Western and anti-Israeli rhetoric, supporting Russia’s alliance with Iran and the Hamas movement.

Today, Zyuganov is a symbol of the old party era: a man preserving Soviet slogans in a new reality where the “opposition” serves as a backdrop for state propaganda.

Zyuganov on the revolution, “fascists,” and Donbass

CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov spoke at the monument to Karl Marx with a speech in which he repeated the party’s key theses of recent years.

“The Great October forever changed the fate of humanity. Today, fascists and war instigators are once again turning against Russia. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers — the heroes of Donbass and the fighters of the special military operation. We know that the truth is on our side, and therefore, victory is ours!” — declared Zyuganov.

“Today we all need a new victory. Previously, we achieved it after industrialization, collectivization, and cultural revolution. …

Today, Americanism again tolerates no alternative. They need neither a powerful Russia, nor a successful Europe, nor a dynamically developing China. They need globalist, financial, and oligarchic dominance.

… we held a forum attended by 165 delegations from 91 countries around the world. And they all supported our just struggle against fascism. And voted in support of those who rose in Donbass, standing up to defend the Russian world and the great Soviet achievements.

Today, representatives from 40 countries have come to us. These are heads of information and propaganda services, television companies, newspapers, magazines.”

His words were accompanied by applause, and many participants chanted familiar slogans: “Lenin! Stalin! USSR!”, “Fascism will not pass!”, “Long live socialism!”.

However, neither in Zyuganov’s speech at the rally nor in the speeches of other CPRF representatives was there any mention of Palestine, Gaza, or the “Middle East conflict”. The communist leader spoke exclusively about the “truth of Donbass” and the “struggle against imperialism”.

The full video of the rally is available on Rutube. 

Symbolism without explanation

Video recordings from the scene, published on social networks and in reports from regional CPRF branches, confirm: Palestinian flags were indeed present. Several activists held them next to party banners and posters. In one photo, a green-black-white cloth with a red triangle on a pole is seen next to a portrait of Lenin and the slogan “Glory to October!”.

At the same time, no comments or explanations — neither in official CPRF publications, nor in press releases, nor in news reports — followed. Russian TV channels limited themselves to filming general plans: red columns, a portrait of Zyuganov, a wreath at the mausoleum. Palestinian flags appeared in the video “by accident,” not in close-up and somehow next to Zyuganov.

Judging by the party’s previous practice, the appearance of such symbols can be linked to activists of the Moscow “Interbrigade” — the youth wing of leftist movements, which has repeatedly participated in actions “in support of the residents of Gaza” and against “Israeli aggression.” In September 2025, the same group went to the “Palestinian” embassy in Moscow with posters “Freedom for Gaza!” and “No to fascism in the Middle East.”

Thus, the “Palestinian symbolism” in the hands of Russian communists is not an accident, but part of an ideological set designed to emphasize “international solidarity with the Kremlin leader.”

Internationalism in Russian style

“Palestine” has long become a convenient symbol of the “struggle against imperialism” for Russian and “state leftists” and “state rightists.” Since Soviet times, the USSR supported the “Palestine Liberation Organization,” and the images of the “suffering people” and “heroic resistance” have firmly entrenched themselves in the ideological lexicon.

Today, the CPRF exploits the same images, but the meaning in them is different. For participants in the current rally, the Palestinian flag is not a gesture of solidarity, but a sign of political position: support for the Kremlin’s line, which since 2023 has been building anti-Israeli rhetoric amid an alliance with Iran and Hamas terrorists.

This rhetoric has become part of the internal propaganda course. The CPRF, formally calling itself opposition, in reality reproduces the same agenda: anti-Israeli statements, anti-Western language, demonstration of “struggle against fascism.” “Gaza flags” in the hands of Russian communists are not an “act of solidarity with Palestinians,” but a visual confirmation of political loyalty: “we are with Putin against Israel and the West.”

“Forum against Neo-Fascism”: Decorations of Grand Rhetoric

The November CPRF event took place shortly after the party’s media forum titled “Truth against Neo-Fascism.” The event was held in Moscow from November 5 to 6, 2025, and was timed to the “anniversary of the October Revolution.”

The organizers announced delegations from more than forty countries, although the list of participants was not published. The speeches addressed themes of “struggle against imperialism,” “protection of historical truth,” and “information war against the West.”

“The vile and treacherous destruction of the Soviet Union gave the world’s predators a sense of impunity. The current position of the West makes the situation in the world increasingly alarming and dangerous. Neocolonialism actively reminds of itself. The grief and suffering of the masses multiply. Hundreds of thousands of people die from hunger and lack of medical care, perish in armed conflicts and at the hands of terrorists. Blood is shed in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, in other corners of the planet,” – from Zyuganov’s speech.

“The actions of the imperialists complicate the situation in Europe and Asia, in America and Africa. The US and their NATO accomplices …. 

This is done through sanctions, military threats, and political blackmail….

The direct support of NATO countries has elevated Nazism to the rank of state ideology in Ukraine. The Bandera scum has turned a brotherly country into a concentration camp for dissenters. It has dealt with the Communist Party, closed unwanted media, and completely destroyed the opposition. For loyalty to the Great Victory over fascism, the Nazis burned people alive in Odessa and terrorized Donbass. Despite all this, the “democratic” West continues to support the Zelensky junta. It is generously stuffed with money and pumped with weapons. In essence, a large war is being ignited in Europe.

The plans of the imperialist West are imbued with the poison of hatred for all who stand for justice, social progress, and real sovereignty. Trump and Merz, Macron and Ursula von der Leyen sometimes argue among themselves on private issues. But together they are servants of global capital. The price for their high positions is the willingness to serve the interests of the financial oligarchy.

Rarely does a speech by Donald Trump go without anti-communist attacks. The word “Marxism” in his mouth sounds like the biggest insult”

and so on and so forth ….

Gennady Zyuganov spoke about the need to unite “all the progressive forces of the world against globalism and neo-fascism.”

Nevertheless, the symbolism of the forum and rally — red banners and Palestinian flags — formed a visually unified contour: Russia is once again “in the international,” only now against Israel and the West, not in the name of the “world revolution.”

Propaganda Geography

For Russian communists, the appearance of Palestinian flags is part of visual rhetoric. At their rallies, symbols of foreign conflicts are used as an ideological marker: Gaza, Donbass, Venezuela — everything is reduced to a single scheme of “struggle against fascism and imperialism.”

In reality, the party speaks not about foreign policy, but about the internal agenda. Behind “internationalism” lies an attempt to prove its own relevance and emphasize loyalty to the Kremlin. Zyuganov’s speech, where “special operation fighters” are called “heroes,” confirms: the CPRF is long no longer opposition, but an auxiliary tool of state propaganda.

Historical Setting

The location is also not accidental. The monument to Karl Marx, erected in 1961 opposite the Bolshoi Theater, has become a symbol of continuity with the USSR for the CPRF. Every November 7, communists gather here to “remember the great October.”

In 2025, the event gathered, according to eyewitness estimates, about three thousand people. On stage — party leaders, in the crowd — veterans, youth, and delegations from the regions. After the rally, participants marched to Red Square, laid wreaths, and took a group photo at the mausoleum.

None of those present explained why “Palestinian flags” appeared next to portraits of Lenin. This silence was louder than any slogans.

“Solidarity” as Decoration

If earlier Soviet internationalism was “state policy,” now it has turned into a decoration of the ideological showcase. Russian communists no longer influence the global leftist movement but use its symbolism for internal purposes.

The “Palestinian flag” next to the red banner of the CPRF is not about “support for Gaza,” but about the need for symbols. It is visual proof that the party is still “in the struggle,” albeit a ritual one.

At the same time, the “Palestinians” themselves are absent from this action. There are no ambassadors, no delegations, no representatives of their political structures. Only colors, turned into an element of propaganda.

Why It Matters

In 2025, the Russian political scene is experiencing an ideological crisis. Almost all parliamentary parties have lost their own position, merging with the Kremlin’s agenda. The CPRF is no exception.

The use of Palestinian symbolism shows: the party is looking for new signs of legitimacy, playing on anti-Israeli and anti-Western sentiments. At the same time, the real content of the protest leftist movement is displaced by the rhetoric of the “special operation.”

Zyuganov, speaking of “fascists and war instigators,” essentially repeats the arguments of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And if in the 1970s communists really “supported Palestine,” now — only its image.

For those who don’t know – why is the “October Revolution” celebrated on November 7?

The name “October Revolution” often causes confusion: the event is called October, but celebrated in November. The reason is that in 1917 Russia lived according to the old Julian calendar, which lagged behind the modern Gregorian by 13 days.

• According to the old style (Julian), the revolution took place on October 25, 1917.
• According to the new style (Gregorian), which Russia adopted in 1918, this corresponds to November 7, 1917.

Since then, historians and official documents have retained the old name — October Revolution, — but the actual date of celebration always falls on November 7.

In the USSR, this day became the main state holiday — “Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution.”
Until 1991, it was celebrated with parades, demonstrations, and solemn speeches throughout the country.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) continues to celebrate it annually. For communists, it is a symbol of continuity with the Soviet Union and loyalty to Lenin’s ideals.

Thus, it turns out: “October” — by name, “November” — by calendar.

Conclusion

The commemorative event of the CPRF in Moscow on November 7, 2025, took place under familiar slogans and new flags. The red and Palestinian banners together at Karl Marx became a symbol not of international friendship, but of an ideological theater, where foreign pain is used for internal propaganda.

Neither Zyuganov nor his associates explained why “Palestinian flags” appeared at the rally. Perhaps because there is nothing to explain: behind them is not “solidarity,” but loyalty to the Kremlin regime.

NANews Israel News Nikk.Agency