Russia celebrates “Victory Day” with a parade

On May 9, at 10.00 a.m., celebrations began on Red Square in Moscow and in 27 other Russian cities to mark the 76th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army over Hitler’s Germany in the so-called “Great Patriotic War”. The military parade, which was traditionally held during President Vladimir Putin’s government (it had not been held for years before that), took place again this year on the actual anniversary of the German surrender in Karlshorst on May 9, 1945, after being postponed to June in 2020 due to coronavirus. It was emphasized that “all participants have been vaccinated against the virus and military chemists disinfect the ceremonial military equipment every day.”

After the minute’s silence heralded by the Kremlin bell tower, the commander-in-chief of the army, General Oleg Salyukov, reported to the organizing Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu that around 12,000 male and female soldiers and cadets were lining up in 37 marching blocks. Shoigu – also in his general’s uniform and from the 4.4-liter V8 hybrid sedan Aurus – then greeted the troops for the victory celebration as usual, and they responded with the customary three “Urrah!”

They were made up of officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers from the various armed forces garrisons of the largest country in the world (see diagram below), cadets from military universities, members of the all-Russian “Unarmia” movement and representatives of military law enforcement agencies and Cossack troops. In the defilé that followed the speeches – without masks – the military police from the Central Military District were represented for the first time this year. All-female marching blocks were formed by the students of the Military University, the Academy of Space and Air Forces Troops, the Military Academy of Communications “Budyonny” and the Logistics Academy. Warnings and remembrance Russian President Vladimir Putin: “We will always remember that this majestic feat was accomplished by the entire Soviet people. People of the most diverse nationalities and faiths fought with skill and great sacrifice for every inch of their homeland. The day of this victory will always be sacred to Russia!” As for today, Putin denounced “a creeping return of the ideologies of the past”. “This is making itself felt in the form of racist rhetoric, national superiority, anti-Semitism and Russophobia. And there is no forgiveness and apology for those who are again thinking about aggressive plans,” said the president, who also promised the troops “to always resolutely defend the national interests of the country, to always ensure the security of the people.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvD_fZr-6hw Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin congratulated the city’s residents on Victory Day: “The memory of the heroism of the victorious soldiers makes today’s generations of Muscovites stronger and helps them to better understand their history. For us, who were born in peacetime, it is almost impossible to imagine what our grandfathers and great-grandfathers experienced. But when we remember their achievements, we become stronger ourselves, we understand our history better, we are proud of our country. And of its past – without which a future is impossible!”

military technology defilés There were then more than 191 pieces of historical, modern and – as they call it – “forward-looking” military equipment to be seen in passing, the latter quantified with 35 examples of completely new and modernized technology. (see diagram on the right) Some of the historic T-34/85s were followed by T-14 Armata main battle tanks and T-72B3M, T-80BVM and T-90M “breakthrough tanks”. The successor to the BMP infantry fighting vehicle, the Kurganets 25, was also on display again, as well as the BMD-4M and APC-MDM Rakuschka floating and air-deployable tracked combat vehicles for the amphibious and airborne troops. These were followed by Iskander-M tactical surface-to-surface missiles, Tornado-S multiple rocket launchers and Koalitsija SW self-propelled howitzers. The Buk and Tor air defense systems in the Russian M3 and M2 versions – some of which are also familiar from recent conflicts such as in Libya – were also no longer a novelty. The same applies to Pantsir-S and the S-400, known from its controversial export to Turkey. Incidentally, the successor model S-500 is said to already be in or about to undergo troop tests. The land meeting was again concluded by the heavy nuclear intercontinental missiles with multiple warheads RS-24 Jars and their probably empty multi-axle carrier vehicles. This time, 76 devices took part in the air meeting in the skies over Moscow – which were not “free of silver iodide” this time, by the way, and were even rainy in places – exactly the same number as in years since the day of the German capitulation. The flypasts were carried out at altitudes of 180 to 550 meters and at speeds of 200 to 550 kilometers per hour, sometimes just below the cloud base. The helicopters were led by three Mi-26s (the world’s largest rotorcraft in service), followed by Mi-8/171s, Mi-24s and Mi-35s, Kamov-52s and Mi-28Ns. Then the bombers (only Russia, the USA and China operate this heavy category) Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3 and Tu-160 (the largest and heaviest fighter aircraft in the world) and tactical aircraft such as Su-30SM, four Su-35S, Su-34 and four MiG-31 (the Kinschal – Dagger hypersonic weapon at the center fuselage station). Also four 5th generation Su-57 stealth multi-role combat aircraft (NATO code: Felon), whereby the air-to-air close-up of the four aircraft in the video from 1:06:45 has since been exposed as – well-made – computer graphics. Neither during the parade nor during the dress rehearsals did anything fly so close in front of the four, and the sky and clouds don’t match. Based on the recognizable Bort numbers, it was a mix of the first series samples (the very first one crashed in 2019) and the second five test carriers flying in Aktyubinsk and Zhukovsky. However, they have different color schemes, while in the video sequence they are all “cloned” the same. Thanks to attentive and detailed correlation by Valius Venckunas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_q6pPwtcSk Preparation and “prevention” The marching blocks and the mechanized parts held eleven joint training sessions in the weeks beforehand in the Alabino garrison near Moscow, where a special platform with a replica of Red Square was built a few years ago. Incidentally, there is also a replica of the square along the wall of the “Forbidden City” in Inner Mongolia for the Chinese parades. For the parade, dress rehearsals were held on Red Square on May 4 (at night) and again on May 6; according to RT, extra rubber coating was laid on the routes for this purpose. In previous years, there was some (financial) trouble with the city of Moscow afterwards due to the great extra expense of repairing the road surfaces, kerbstones and street furniture ruined by the sheer weight of the combat vehicles (despite the rubber in the tracks) as well as by maneuvering and turning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ax3S1zvng