(reflections on the topic of celebrating May 1 in Volyn) \nUnder such a loud slogan, a rally was held on Saturday in the city of Lutsk. Its organizers were the regional branches of the SDPU(o) and the party "Trudova Ukraina". The master of ceremonies was the mayor of Lutsk, Anton Kryvytskyi. He, as the first social democrat of the region, greeted all those present "social democrats" (as it turned out, all participants of the rally are members of the SDPU(o) party!!!) with the holiday of workers' solidarity. The mayor spoke about the achievements of the city authorities in the field of ensuring the well-being of the population, noting that this is all the implementation of social democratic ideas. The speech of the deputy head of the regional state administration, Stepan Rodych, was more politicized. The deputy head of the regional state administration spoke about the great successes on the reform path of President Kuchma and the coalition government of Yanukovych, and about the upcoming presidential elections and the need to make the right choice in favor of stability. The official also mentioned his "figure" — the tangible growth of the well-being of Volyn residents, the improvement of the economic situation in the region. It was interesting to observe how Mr. Rodych spoke about the inadmissibility of any political force using the May Day holidays for its party interests, standing on the tribune against the background of a row of young men with rose flags. Against the background of the "rose" banners, the state flags were lost, although the holiday is celebrated at the state level!!! \nRepresentatives of the region's trade unions, military servicemen, teachers, and students were also invited to speak — a kind of "representation of broad circles of society." All of them, in a single social democratic impulse, unanimously (if by eye) supported the resolution of the rally. The key phrase of the resolution was: "Only the mass party SDPU(o) can ensure a better fate for our citizens." In a word, "you are going the right way, comrades." I hope that the newspapers "Tak!" distributed by representatives of the bloc "Nasha Ukraina" on Teatralnyi Square, and which were popular among the rally participants, will not knock people off this path. I don't want the efforts of the pro-government party members to be in vain. They are trying as hard as they can. \nAnother interesting detail for the material: once again, young people were not overlooked. Students of VDU, VIEM, the Humanities University, and other universities of the city, who with party flags and posters created the crowd at the rally, noted in private conversations the not entirely democratic way they were invited to this event. Some were told that participation in the rally is a necessary condition for successfully passing final exams, others — that it is a form of making up for missed classes. There was also a "carrot" for employees of budget-funded institutions. The organizers' efforts were successful — about a thousand people were gathered. After the rally, all of them were invited to celebrations on the occasion of the holiday, organized by the city authorities in the center and parks of Lutsk. Now the people will really party! \nHappy holiday to you, dear Ukrainians! \n \nPS. I sincerely admit, I was struck by one fact: the absence of live roses (traditional for the SDPU(o)) during the rally. The lifeless flowers in the girls' hands looked somehow dry. Or maybe it's just a provocation — surely someone bought up all the roses in the shops the day before!!! That's where the police should be looking. \n