Victory Day was the only major public holiday that made the transition to post-Soviet Russia. Military parades remained reserved for special anniversaries until the USSR’s collapse. Still, many people continued to commemorate the war among family, friends and comrades in arms. Private practices, such as visiting cemeteries or giving flowers to war veterans, were incorporated into official events. May 9 became a day of public celebrations, family outings, concerts and fireworks – all broadcast on national television. In the following years, massive war memorials were erected throughout the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of the cult of the great patriotic war.
That year, the Victory Day parade was held on the Red Square in Moscow for first time since 1945. The day only became an official public holiday in 1965 on the 20th anniversary of Germany’s surrender in Europe. In the first post-war decades, May 9 was a regular working day when families and military units quietly came together to remember and mourn their dead. Across the vast Soviet empire, there was scarcely a household left untouched by the war. The Soviet Union sustained the biggest losses during the second world war, with roughly 27 million soldiers and civilians left dead and many cities levelled to the ground.
The most striking change is the cancellation of the “Immortal Regiment” marches, which have been the centrepiece of civic commemorations of Victory Day over the past ten years. In several regions, including Crimea and the Kursk and Belgorod oblasts that border Ukraine, the traditional military parades will not take place at all. Many of the day’s features - the parades, songs and commemorative practices - date back to the Soviet era.īut this year’s celebrations will be scaled down. The public and the state come together in a patriotic celebration during which people remember their family members who sacrificed their lives to defeat Nazism. Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe is the most important holiday in Russia. The group also scuffled with the police.Īt least two people were injured during a fight in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, after young Ukrainian nationalists attempted to grab memorial ribbons and flags from a pro-Russian group near a wartime monument.Russians celebrate the end of the “great patriotic war” on May 9 each year. However, they were heckled by a group of youths flying a flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, an armed faction that fought Soviet troops in during the war. In Kyiv, a group of about 1,000 people also laid wreaths to a WWII memorial for Victory Day. Rebel-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine also marked the anniversary by holding military parades, and some 15 thousand people took part in the celebration on the streets of Russian-controlled Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula. In addition to the central parade in Moscow, similar events were held across Russia and the former Soviet Union, but also in the Russian military base in Hemeimeem, Syria. The celebration concluded with dozens of warplanes and helicopters flying over the Red Square. The column of armored vehicles, however, was led by the Russian WWII staple tank T-34. The military also displayed advanced missile and artillery systems, and new models of tanks and armored vehicles. Over 10,000 Russian troops took part in the traditional Victory Day parade, according to the Russian defense ministry. Putin also described Russian victory over Nazi Germany as a "stern warning to those who might want to test our strength." "We need to defeat this evil, and Russia is open to joining forces with other countries," he said, adding that Moscow was ready to help create an international security system that transcends military blocs. Speaking from Red Square, in front of the Kremlin, the Russian leader also warned against the "global threat" of terrorism. In this closeness, in loyalty to the Motherland lays our power, confidence and dignity," he added. "This holiday has became a symbol of kinship between Russia and her people. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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