PRESIDENT Yeltsin was on his feet only two days after his quintuple bypass operation but so too were tens of thousands of communists who marched in Moscow to mark the 79th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.
At least that's what they thought they were commemorating as they trudged from the giant statue of Lenin on Kaluga (formerly October) Square to the massive bust of Karl Marx on Theatre (formerly Sverdlov) Square. While they did so, however, Mr Yell sin was issuing a decree renaming "Revolution Day" as the "Day of Accord and Reconciliation".
Neither of these two qualities was evident among the marchers who carried banners proclaiming "All Power to the Soviets" and heard the Communist Party leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, tell them that the country could not be run from an intensive care ward.
Mr Anatoly Lukyanov, who was involved in organising the abortive coup d'etat of August 1991 and is regarded as the eminence grise of the Communist Party, declared that November 7th (October 25th in the old Julian Calendar) was: "The day of the liberation of the working classes and the crushing of those who exploited them."
Most of Moscow, as usual, remained blithely uninterested in political issues of all kinds. Parents took their children for walks in the city's parks and for once the massive snarl of traffic was silenced.
Mr Yeltsin's recovery continued apace and he was able to walk around his hospital ward for the first time since his operation on Tuesday. The Kremlin also announced that later today he may get his wish to move from the Chazov Moscow Cardiological Centre to the nearby Central Clinical Hospital where he was treated for his previous heart problems.
Prof Renal Akchurin who performed the operation was, as a reward for his work, appointed presidential surgeon, but there were still worries that Mr Yeltsin might not heed warnings that he should not rush into strenuous work. The President is used to giving rather than taking orders.
While most rank and file communists may have resented the changing of the name of the holiday, Mr Yeltsin's decree will be carefully studied by those higher up in the party's echelons.
The presidential spokesman Mr Sergei Yastrshembsky, at a press briefing, said that the idea of accord and reconciliation would be the theme of Mr Yeltsins renewed presidency and the President would enter into dialogue with his opponents.
Even before his operation Mr Yeltsin had appointed two communists to his government: the Justice Minister, Mr Valentin Kovalyov, and the Minister for Co operation with CIS countries, Mr Aman Tuleyev.
He also created a "council of four" to ensure stability in Russia, consisting of the Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Kremlin chief of staff, Mr Anatoly Chubais and the communist speakers of houses of parliament, Mr Yegor Stroyev and Mr Gennady Seleznyov.
Yesterday's decree gave a strong hint that further communist appointments may be on the way.
