Soviet symbol revival effort falls short

April 2, 1997
Web postedat: 10:50 p.m. EST (0350 GMT)

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Communists in the Russian parliament failed Wednesday to resurrect the Soviet-era red flag, hammer and sickle and anthem as Russia's state symbols. The attempt failed in the lower house, or State Duma.

After the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin replaced the Soviet symbols with symbols from the pre-Soviet era, including a flag of red, white and blue. But parliament has never approved the changes, and many Communist lawmakers refuse to acknowledge the new symbols as legitimate.

Also Wednesday, Communist lawmakers approved a nonbinding resolution opposing any attempt to bury the embalmed body of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, which has been on display in Red Square since his death in 1924. Yeltsin has pushed to bury the body, but taken no action.

Reuters contributed to this report.

 

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