A Bolshevik at a rally in St Petersburg. (Reuters)

Moscow, Nov. 8: Russia celebrated yesterday what is likely to be the last mass commemoration of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution.

More than 300,000 people joined rallies and demonstrations across the country, many angered by parliament?s plans to abolish the public holiday as a hangover of communism.

A bill to be pushed through the Duma this week will move the November 7 holiday to November 4, commemorating an obscure day in 1612 when Moscow was freed from Polish occupation.

Pro-Kremlin MPs, who control the Duma, say creating a new holiday will unite the country during a time of crisis when it is under attack from Chechen terrorists.

But poll results announced yesterday show that 77 per cent of Russians oppose the abolition.

?I?m categorically against it,? said Viktor Goltov, 58, as he talked to friends in front of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

?The 1917 revolution marked the entry into a new world, a new way of thinking. We should not forget that.?

The anniversary of the October Revolution was already renamed the Day of Accord and Reconciliation, and the huge Soviet-era displays of military pomp are long gone.

Nevertheless, the traditional holiday still draws thousands to Leftist gatherings across the country or to enjoy a day off and a stroll in the park.

The Communist Party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, told supporters at a rally near the Kremlin: ?If the state Duma approves the decision to shift the holiday it will be an enormous injustice. No one has ever succeeded in changing our history."