Paris Commune, Anniversary of the

the day observed by the working people of the world in commemoration of the victory of the first proletarian revolution, on Mar. 18, 1871.

The decision to observe March 18 as the first successful attempt by workers to seize political power was made on Feb. 20, 1872, by the General Council of the First International. On May 23, 1880, on the call of the French socialist newspapers, the first procession took place in Paris to the Wall of the Communards in the Père-Lachaise cemetery. Since then, there are annual meetings of Parisian workers at the Wall of the Communards on the last Sunday in May. While he was in Paris, V. I. Lenin regularly took part in the traditional meeting. In Russia before 1917, the anniversary of the Paris Commune was observed at illegal meetings of workers and revolutionary organizations; it first began to be observed widely after March 1923, when the Central Committee of the International Organization for the Aid to Revolutionary Fighters declared the anniversary of the Paris Commune to be its holiday.