The parade on Red Square also saw military aircraft, including Su-35 fighter jets Russian Federation uses in its bombing campaign in war-torn Syria, swoop over Moscow in a resounding fly-by. Critics claim it has been co-opted by a Kremlin eager to deploy the Soviet defeat of fascism as a key part of a resurgent Russian nationalism.
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The Immortal Regiment event – during which people carry photographs of their relatives who participated in the Second World War – was first held in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012, TASS reported on Monday.
The eastern insurgents’ de facto capital of Donetsk saw more than 10,000 people swarm along the main street of the shattered industrial hub to remember the victims of what Russian Federation calls The Great Patriotic War.
The participants observed a minute’s silence in memory of the World War II martyrs. Putin held a picture of his father, who was wounded in combat.
Tanks, self-propelled artillery units and intercontinental ballistic missile launchers trundled across the square and through central Moscow, to cheering crowds.
Last year Ukraine joined other European countries to mark remembrance day on May 8th but has also kept place the traditional May 9th victory celebration. Overall, Russia is to spend some $4 million on “cloud-bursting” in Moscow ahead of public holidays this year. Russians refer to World War Two as the Great Patriotic War.
“I promise that we will win”. A sizeable show of might, the parade featured 130 pieces from the Russian military arsenal. “They have allowed us to achieve a turning point in the fight against the militants, although we realize that the situation there is hard and there is still a lot for the Syrian army to do”.
The parade in Moscow was a strong reminder of Russia’s dedication in recent years to modernize its military.
After the parade, Putin, jointly with veterans, honored the memory of those fallen in World War II, laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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The Russian president that history should not be allowed to be rewritten and tragic mistakes of the past should not be repeated.
