Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Nur-Sultan Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Josef Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).second Victory Day parade took place in Moscow, this Victory Day celebration also saw veterans obtain the first

jubilee medal A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

for "''Twenty Years of Victory''" in honor of the 20th anniversary since the Allied victory in Europe against Nazi Germany. Further parades would be held in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. Until 1989 celebrations of Victory Day were held in most

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

countries (save for

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, whose celebrations fell on 8 May except in 1975, when it was marked on 9 May). Of all the countries that observed it, only

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

held celebration parades every 5 years, also in honor of the successful

Prague Uprising The Prague uprising ( cs, Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of o ...

that ended on that day in 1945. In addition,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(which was outside the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

) also held occasional parades, with the former staging a massive parade in 1985 to mark the ruby jubilee anniversary and the latter following the practice of Czechoslovakia of parades every 5th anniversary beginning with the 20th anniversary in 1965. In 2020, many of the traditional parades were cancelled, with the only ones being held in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. The main parade in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, as well as parades in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

were cancelled as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In response to these massive cancellations,

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

regional director for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Hans Kluge Hans Henri Marcel Paul Kluge (born 29 November 1968, (Roeselare) is a Belgian medical doctor and public health expert with more than 25 years of experience spanning three continents. , he served as the World Health Organization Regional Director ...

referred to these cancellations as "a brave decision", highlighting their holiday significance.

Purpose

According to Russian anthropologist Sergey Ushakin, modern victory parades are intended to demonstrate the direct and immediate connection of the present with the past and to materialize the connection between generations. General Oleg Salyukov, who has commanded the parade for close to a decade, described them in an interview with

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

as a "celebration for people, not show of militarism" referring to accusations of the parade being used as show of Russian military might.

Parades in the Russian Federation

RIAN archive 311498 Military parade dedicated to the 63rd anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War

Today,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, as the largest of the countries of the former Soviet Union, continues the practice of parades held in honor of the victory won in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

- the Eastern Front of the Second World War as called by the Soviet Union. The first of these parades was held in 1995 (5 years after the fall of the Soviet Union) under the auspices of President

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...

, who held the parade to commemorate the

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

of the Soviet and allied victory in the war. The parade was the only one to date that had to be divided into two parts (a full military parade on

Poklonnaya Hill Poklonnaya Gora (russian: Покло́нная гора́, literally "bow-down hill"; metaphorically "Worshipful Submission Hill"') is, at 171.5 meters, one of the highest natural spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun ...

and a veterans ceremony on Red Square).

Red Square, Moscow

The most important parade of those being held on May 9 is the one held on Moscow's Red Square, with the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

as the guest of honor and keynote speaker in virtue of his constitutional mandate as Supreme Commander of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. On the morning of the day, an estimated 14,000 military personnel, including a regiment of female cadets and youth cadets, assemble by battalions on the square together with the Massed Bands of around 1,100 bandsmen under the direction of the Senior Director of Music of the

Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation serves as the official service of military bands in active service within the Russian Armed Forces and formerly the Soviet Armed Forces. It is part of the Military Band Servi ...

(an appointment bestowed to either a colonel or a general rank officer), together with more than 210 vehicles and 3,800 vehicle crews assembled on Tverskaya Street just north of the Manezhnaya Square, Moscow, during the major parades a battalion or company of historical Red Army vehicles, estimated at around 36 vehicles and composed of just the

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...

, GAZ-67 and the SU-100 plus the optional BM-13N (or at around an estimated 480 when counting other vehicles of the war which would take part just like in the parades of 1985 and 1990) assemble on the street as well with modern military hardware of the Armed Forces and the National Guard (and optionally by the other uniformed organizations). At the airbases outside Moscow (in areas like Kubinka), more than 88 aircraft are assembled with their aircrews for the flypast segment. Each of the contingents, since 1996, carry historical military colors of the 1942 (Red Army, Soviet Air Force, People's Militia) and 1932–1944 (Navy) patterns at the head of their formations honoring the millions of men and women who served in the ranks of the military and law enforcement services of the former Soviet Union during the long period of the Eastern Front of the Second World War, and the millions among them who were either killed or were missing in action. The celebrations begin at 9:55 am Moscow Standard Time with the arrival of the President and the

Prime Minister of Russia The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 fo ...

to a special grandstand in front of Lenin's Mausoleum, where six of the past parades were reviewed by national leaders. They greet the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, service commanders, deputy ministers in the Ministry of Defence and commanders of the support units within the Armed Forces, together with veterans, veterans' families and representatives of the Suvorov and Nakhimov Schools assembled. To the left and right of the grandstand are the stands wherein veterans, veterans' families, and descendants and families of personnel killed in action are gathered. In between the grandstand to the south of the stands are two platoons of armed linemen and markers from the

154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment serves as the official honor guard regiment of the Russian Armed Forces and serves as the main honor guard unit of the armed forces, stationed in Moscow. Aside from being the honor guard ...

in the Imperial-styled military uniforms and some unarmed half-companies of the Kremlin Regiment, both of which would be later taking post to mark the distance of the troops marching past and to line the square's western side facing the Kremlin together with extra drum majors from the Band Service, which are there to coordinate the march past to be timed in with the music of the bands since the parade of 1995. At the square, the parade commander (usually a Colonel-General or rarely a General of the Army with the billet of Commander of the Ground Forces or as the Deputy Chief of General Staff) takes his place in a special an Aurus Senat armored limousine (formerly a Zil until 2018), having just received the report on the readiness of the parade from the commandant of the Combined Arms Academy who is a general officer. As the Spasskaya Tower of the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

sounds the chimes at 10 am the parade commander orders the parade to present arms as the 154th PICR's 1st Honor Guard Company Colour Guard, to the melody of '' The Sacred War'' being played by the Massed Bands, marches into the square and past the dignitaries with guard carrying both the Flag of Russia and the

Victory Banner The Soviet Banner of Victory (russian: Знамя Победы, translit=Znamya Pobedy) was the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 1 May 1945, the day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide. It was raise ...

. As the colour guards approach the grandstand, the colour officers execute eyes left and resume above face after passing by. This is followed by the parade being commanded to stand at ease after the colours take their place at the northwest end of the square fronting the State Historical Museum, besides the colour of the Armed Forces. Then the Minister of Defence (usually a billet of a General of the Army) is driven on the limousine to the center of the square nearest the tribune, the parade presenting arms again at this point. The parade commander informs him of the readiness of the parade to be inspected. The report is received, and to the tune of the Massed Bands, the Minister and the parade commander are driven to inspect the parading contingents each together with the bands. As the limousines stop the Minister sends Victory Day greetings to each of the parading contingents, in which they respond with a threefold loud ''

Oorah ''Oorah'' is a battle cry common in the United States Marine Corps since the mid-20th century. It is comparable to Hooah in the United States Army, the United States Air Force, and the United States Space Force, or Hooyah in the United States Na ...

'' that is heard all over the grounds. After the final greeting, the Massed Bands strike up to ''

Slavsya "Slav’sya!", (russian: Славься!, translit=, link=no) is the name of the final song in the epilogue of Mikhail Glinka's first opera ''A Life for the Tsar'' (1836) and now considered as one of Russia's greatest classical and patriotic anthem ...

'' from

A Life for the Tsar ''A Life for the Tsar'' ( rus, "Жизнь за царя", italic=yes, Zhizn za tsarya ) is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. During the Soviet era the opera was known under the name ''Ivan Susanin' ...

as the PC returns to his place, the Minister driven to the grandstand amidst loud shouts of ''Oorah'' by the parade contingents where he dismounts the limousine and the

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

of the Moscow Military Music College, an affiliate of the Suvorov Military Schools, take their place behind the parade commander's car led by the Commandant of the college and the college colour guard. The parade is ordered to stand at ease after the Minister informs the President that the parade is formed up for the march past in review and its inspection officially completed. In 1965, 1985 and 1990 parades, the limousines would inspect the personnel of the mobile column at the Manezhnaya Square formed into battalions, in remembrance of the mounted inspection of the original 1945 parade, which included cavalry,

tachanka A tachanka ( ukr, тачанка, rus, тача́нка, pl, taczanka) was a horse-drawn machine gun, usually a cart (such as charabanc) or an open wagon with a heavy machine gun installed in the back. A tachanka ...

s and

horse artillery Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from the early 17th to t ...

in addition to the huge mobile column. Following the report of the Minister of Defence, the keynote holiday address to the nation of the President follows, preceded by a fanfare by the Massed Bands, usually Govovin's ''Moscow Fanfare''. A moment of silence, since 2014, features as part of the keynote address. As the president finishes the address and a threefold ''Oorah'' resounds all over the square by the entire parade assembled and the honor guard presents arms, the Massed Bands play the

National Anthem of Russia The "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" is the national anthem of Russia. It uses the same melody as the "State Anthem of the Soviet Union", composed by Alexander Alexandrov, and new lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov, who had collaborated with ...

and a ceremonial battery armed with the 76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) fire a

21-gun salute A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...

. As the anthem ends, the bands sound Retreat as the honor guard executes order arms and the parade commander orders the parade to commence the march past in the following manner: ::''Parade... attention! Ceremonial march past!''
''Form battalions! Distance by a single lineman! First battalion will remain in the right, remainder... left.. turn!''
''Slope.. arms!'' As the command is given to start the linemen take their places and the field markers also as well at the south end of the square. As the PC ends the commands with ''Eyes to the right, forward, quick march!'' the Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military Music College, as is their tradition since 1938, march first to the tune of the "General Miloradovich" by one of its late alumni, Lieutenant General

Valery Khalilov Valery Mikhaylovich Khalilov (; 30 January 1952 – 25 December 2016) was an Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he was the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Servic ...

, one of the longest-serving Senior Directors of Music of the Military Band Service and conductor of the Moscow area massed bands from 2002 to 2016, being played by the drummers and fifers. As the massed bands start playing the Corps of Drums stop playing by the signal of the Corps Drum Major and swings its drumsticks while on the eyes right. The Corps is followed by the colour guard of the 154th PICR and its 1st Honor Guard Company, during jubilee parades, the colour guard is followed by a company of colour bearers carrying the front standards in the order of their marchpast in the 1945 Victory Parade and their escorts, colours from the regiments, brigades, and divisions which took part in the original 1945 parade and a historical unit of servicemen in period uniforms, optionally joined by the

Kuban Cossacks Kuban Cossacks (russian: кубанские казаки, ''kubanskiye kаzaki''; uk, кубанські козаки, ''kubanski kozaky''), or Kubanians (russian: кубанцы, ; uk, кубанці, ), are Cossacks who live in the Kuban re ...

, in memory of their contingent which marched past on that very parade, and the Escort Cavalry Squadron of the Kremlin Regiment plus a number of international contingents. This is followed by the rest of the parade ground column, starting with the youth contingents and by the Combined Arms Academy, among other troops. Scheme foriben final

Once the ground column ends, the bands stop playing and, to give way to the mobile column by marching towards the facade of the GUM department store. The mobile column starts with the drive past of historical vehicles in jubilee years and only a T-34/85 medium battle tank carrying the Victory Banner non-special anniversary years. Following the end of the mobile column with the service flags of the three branches of the Armed Forces, the flypast then follows, usually as the Bands play the ''Aviamarch'' and other air marches. The flypast marks the formal end the parade.

Russian parades held outside Moscow

As per tradition, 27 other Russian major cities (

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

and Kerch in the disputed

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

included) are expected to hold commemorative parades on that day (some of them including flypasts and fleet reviews during jubilee years), and joint civil-military parades are hosted by 50 other towns and cities nationwide. Many of these parades are modeled primarily on the Moscow parade, which is the national parade and the highlight of the celebrations, with the local area military unit commander as the parade reviewing officer and the unit executive officer as the parade commander. Military bands are drawn from the local area military unit or educational institutions. The following plazas in cities outside of Moscow hold military parades: * Palace Square ( St. Petersburg) *Soviet Square ( Smolensk) *Victory Square (

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains *Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

) * Victory Square (

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

) *Lenin Square (

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

) *

Minin and Pozharsky Square The Minin and Pozharsky Square (. Short-name: Minin Square) is the main square of Nizhny Novgorod. It is a social and cultural center of the city, the venue of the most important celebrations. It is located in the historical centre of the old tow ...

(

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

) * Five Corners (

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

) *Primorskoy Square ( Severomorsk) * 1905 Square (

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

) *Millennium Square (

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

) *Lenin Square (

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

) *

Kuybyshev Square Kuybyshev Square (russian: Площадь Куйбышева, ''Ploshad' Kuybysheva'') is a public square in Samara, Russia, located in the city's historic center between Chapaevskaya, Vilonovska, Galaktionovskaya, and Krasnoarmeyskaya streets i ...

(

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

) * Theatre Square (

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

) *Square of Fallen Fighters ( Volgograd) *Lenin Square (

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

) *Freedom Square ( Vladikavkaz) *Lenin Square ( Astrakhan) *Lenin Square ( Stavropol) *Admiral Pavel Nakhimov Square (

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

) *Lenin Square ( Kerch) *Lenin Square (

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

) *Platov Square (

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as t ...

) * Lenin Square (

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

) *Ship Embankment (

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

) *Central Square ( Ussuriysk) *Central Square (

Belogorsk Belogorsk or Bilohirsk (russian: Белогорск; uk, Білогірськ) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia and Ukraine. ;Urban localities *Belogorsk, Amur Oblast, a town in Amur Oblast; administratively incorporated as a ...

) *Lenin Square ( Chita) *Council Square (

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...

) *Glory Square ( Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) Like Moscow, regional parades in recent years have included foreign troops in their parades. On the 65th anniversary in 2010, French troops took part in a parade in

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

while American sailors paraded in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

. This occurred once again in 2013 in Vladivostok during which American Pacific Fleet troops and sailors from the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

took part in the 68th anniversary parade, greeting the parade inspector in their native languages before sounding a Russian-style threefold "Ura!" Foreign cadet contingents also take part in the parade in St. Petersburg and

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

. In 2020, it was confirmed that foreign servicemen from the armed forces of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

,

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

,

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

will take part in the parade in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

, as well an 80-man contingent from

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

, plans which were later scrapped. In

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...

in 2021, a contingent of the

Mongolian Armed Forces The Mongolian Armed Forces ( mn, Монгол Улсын Зэвсэгт Хүчин; ''Mongol: ulsyn zevsegt hüchin'') is the collective name for the Mongolian military and the joint forces that comprise it. It is tasked with protecting the inde ...

took part in the parade for the first time.

Palace Square, St. Petersburg

Military Band of the Eastern Military District

The first Victory parade in the city was the Parade of Guards () on 8 July 1945 was held in then Leningrad in the presence of at least half a million Leningraders. The parade consisted of servicemen from guards units of the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

, all of which marched on Nevsky Prospect. On 9 May 1965, the first parade celebration of the 20th anniversary of the victory took place on the Palace Square grounds. In 2019, Soviet era unit colours were flown in the lead vehicles of the units composing the mobile column in the St. Petersburg parade honoring the Second World War service of these formations, including battle honours won for service during the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

(1941-1944). This tradition would be carried on in the coming years. Beginning in 2001, the National Anthem has been sung, in all its three verses, with the choral accompaniment of the singers of the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Western Military District.

Ship Embankment, Vladivostok

Victory Parades in Vladivostok first began in 1965. Despite this it is generally considered that the first parade in honor of the victory in Vladivostok on

Svetlanskaya Street Svetlanskaya Street (russian: Светла́нская у́лица; ''Svetlanskaya ulitsa'') is a major street in Vladivostok, Russia. History Svetlanskaya Street was originally called Amerikanskaya Street after the corvette ''Amerika'', but ...

took place in 1918 dedicated to the First World War, attended by British, American and French troops. Svetlanskaya later went on to host ten victory parades, held infrequently. The traditional part of parade was reduced to the construction of areas of the central square, which resulted in parades, such as one in 2009, being held under the monument to the Red Army soldier. In 2011, the victory parade in Vladivostok moved from the central square to Ship Embankment, which was a controversial move that caused debate. Since 2012, official Victory Parades have been held annually on the street.

Lenin Square, Khabarovsk

The parade in the city of

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

is the main one in the

Eastern Military District The Eastern Military District (Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction within the Far Eastern Federal ...

. In 2019, the American

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...

medium tank, one of the many Lend-Lease Sherman tanks supplied to the Soviet Union by the United States military industry, took part in the mobile column of the parade for the first time, after over a year of restoration work after being found by divers at the bottom of the Barents Sea. This was unprecedented, as this was the first time in years that a Lend-Lease vehicle used by the Soviet Army drove past on a regional parade in the city.

1905 Square, Yekaterinburg

Unlike other cities, parades in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

(known in the Soviet era as Sverdlovsk) weren't held until 1975, a year when the parade in Moscow wasn't event being held despite it being a jubilee year. Another parade was held on 1905 Square in 1980. Parades returned in 1992, after the merger/creation of the

Volga–Ural Military District The Volga–Ural Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, formed on 1 September 2001 by the amalgamation of the Volga Military District and the Ural Military District. The headquarters of the Ural Military District, ...

caused large-scale parades in the region to be moved to Samara. In 2005, Yekaterinburg was one of three cities in Russia (along with Moscow and

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

), where heavy military equipment directly took part in the parade. The record number of military equipment participating in the parade was recorded in 2010. In 2015, aircraft were first introduced into the parade.

Lenin Square, Novorossiysk

The 2021 parade in Novosibirsk was the first ever regional parade since 1990 that featured the Strategic Missile Forces' RS-24 Yars mobile ICBM system from the city-based 39th Guards Rocket Division, the first time in years that ICBMs made their appearance at the end of the mobile column segment of the parade in the city and an unprecedented decision by the parade organizers. In the past, there have been surface to surface tactical missile units in many of the regional parades, which have been retained in some cities, but not the ICBMs, which only appeared in the Moscow parade of 1965.

Kazan Kremlin

The principal parade of Tatarstan, beginning 2012, has been held on the grounds of Kazan Millenium Square, outside the iconic Kazan Kremlin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and at the front of Kazan Arena.

Crimea

Parades held in the Russian Republic of Crimea are spread across three cities:

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

,

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

and Kerch. The first large-scale procession took place in 1960 at the city stadium in Simferopol. Since the 90s, the most grandiose parades, were held in Sevastopol, a

Hero City Hero City may refer to: * Hero City (Soviet Union), awarded 1965–1985 to cities now in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine * Hero City of Ukraine, awarded 2022 * Hero Cities of Yugoslavia, awarded 1970–1975 * Leningrad Hero City Obelisk, a monument ...

. For a number of years, a joint parade of the Russian

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

and the Ukrainian Navy took place in the city, featuring both Ukrainian and Rusisan parade commanders and inspectors. Military parade in Sevastopol on May 9, 2014

Military parade in Sevastopol on May 9, 2014

Since the 2014

Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

, parades have been solely held by Russia, with the first parade in May of that year commemorating the 70th anniversary of its liberation. President Vladimir Putin also visited the city to attend a fleet review after reviewing the parade in Moscow that day.

Russian parades outside the country

The following bases in foreign countries hold military parades: * -

Russian 201st Military Base The Russian 201st Military Base ( tg, Пойгоҳи низомии 201-и Русия; russian: 201-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, part of the Central Military Distric ...

During the annual parade at

Khmeimim Air Base Khmeimim Air Base (Russian: Хмеймим), also Hmeimim Air Base, is a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria. The airbase shares some airfield faciliti ...

in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, a unit from the Syrian Arab Armed Forces usually participates in the parade.

Incidents

In 2004, during a victory parade in the Chechen city of

Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...

, a bomb exploded, killing 10 people including the Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov.

History of parades in different countries

Parades held in recognized nations

Republic of Armenia

Annual victory day parades in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

are held in

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

on the central square of the city, being presided by the Commander-in-Chief of the

United Group of Forces The United Group of Forces (; ) is a joint unit with the Armed Forces of Armenia and the Russian Armed Forces. It is composed of management bodies and units and formations of both militaries: the Russian 102nd Military Base and the Armenian Army's ...

and taking place with the participation of troops from the

Russian 102nd Military Base The Russian 102nd Military Base ( hy, Ռուսական 102-րդ ռազմակայան; russian: 102-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base in Gyumri, Armenia, under the command of the Southern Military Distric ...

, the Leninakan Border Detachment of the

Federal Security Service of Russia The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...

, and military personnel of the

Armed Forces of Armenia The Armed Forces of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի զինված ուժեր, Hayastani zinvats uzher), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Army ( hy, Հայկական Բանակ, Haykakan Banak), is the national military of Armenia. It consist ...

. The first one took place in 2014, after having not been held since 1993. Officials in attendance are the Governor of the

Shirak Region Shirak ( hy, wikt:Շիրակ, Շիրակ, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey to the west and Georgia (country), Geor ...

, the Mayor of Gyumri, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Shirak. In 2015, pilots of the Russian airbase in Armenia participated in a flypast over Gyrumi and

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

for the first time in honor of the platinum jubilee. Because the 2020 celebrations in honor of the holiday and Shushi Liberation Day were cancelled by order of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, a fly past of the Armenian Air Force was held at the Mother Armenia monument.

Republic of Belarus

Victory parades in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

have dated back to Soviet parades in the former

Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

. They are usually held on jubilee years (e.g. 50th anniversary, 65th anniversary).

Czechoslovakia

During the period of the

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

, regular victory day parades were held by the Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA) in Letná. The first parade took place in 1951 and have since been held every five years on 9 May up until 1990. The parade also marked the

Prague uprising The Prague uprising ( cs, Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of o ...

. The last of these parades took place in 1985. ''

Kde domov můj "" (; English: "Where My Home Is") is the national anthem of the Czech Republic, written by the composer František Škroup and the playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl. History The piece was written as a part of the incidental music to the come ...

'' & ''

Nad Tatrou sa blýska "" (; , "Above Tatras it is lightening") is the national anthem of Slovakia. The origins of it are in the Central European activism of the 19th century. Its main themes are a storm over the Tatra mountains that symbolized danger to the Slovaks, ...

'' (the Czechoslovakian national anthem) was performed by the massed bands on parade before being followed by the '' State Anthem of the Soviet Union''. Parades were also held in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

and Pilsen as well.

State of Israel

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

has commemorated Victory Day since it became a national holiday in 2017. As a result of the

mass immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents or Naturalization, naturalize ...

of many Red Army veterans, Israel now hosts the largest and most extensive Victory Day celebrations outside the former Soviet space. The traditions and customs of Victory Day are the same as in Russia, with marches of Immortal Regiments held in cities with large populations of Red Army veterans and their descendants, particularly in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

. It does not just honor all who served in the European and Mediterranean Theaters, but also particularly honors the Jewish partisans and soldiers who served in the armed forces and paramilitary formations, as well as of the civil uniformed security forces, of the Allies, whose experience would help in the formation of the current day

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

.

Republic of Kazakhstan

The first Victory Day Parade in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

was held in 1995 in the then capital of

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

. Celebrating the

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

of the victory, it was held on Republic Square and was presided by the Minister of Defence, Army General Sagadat Nurmagambetov. Subsequent small-scale parades were held in 2000 and 2005. In 2015, a Victory Day/Defender of the Fatherland Day Parade was held on Independence Square in Nur-Sultan (then known as Astana) to celebrate the victory's platinum jubilee. As a result, most Victory Day parades are held in connection with

Defender of the Fatherland Day Defender of the Fatherland Day (russian: День защитника Отечества ''Den' zashchitnika Otechestva''; kk, Отан қорғаушы күні; tg, Рӯзи Дорандаи Ватан; ky, Мекенди коргоочула ...

holiday, which celebrates the founding of the Kazakh Armed Forces. In the wake of the

Coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the com ...

outbreak in March 2020, President

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev ( kk, Қасым-Жомарт Кемелұлы Тоқаев, Qasym-Jomart Kemelūly Toqaev ; born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who is currently serving as the President of Kazakhstan since 12 J ...

ordered the cancellation of that year's parade due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

that affected the country. On 24 June of that year, the city of

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

held a mini Victory Parade. In Aktau, the parade traditionally begins with the "Volley of Remembrance", fired near the Eternal Flame monument.

Kyrgyz Republic

The only major Victory Day Parade in

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

occurred in 2015 on

Ala-Too Square Ala-Too Square ( ky, Ала-тоо аянты, ''Ala-Too ayantı'', ; russian: Площадь Ала-Тоо, ''Ploshchad' Ala-Too'', ) is the central square in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. History The square was built in 1984 to celebrate the 60th annive ...

. It was presided by Prime Minister Temir Sariyev and

Chief of General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

Asanbek Alymkozhoev in place of President Almazbek Atambayev, who was attending the

2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade The 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a parade that took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The annual parade marks the Allied victory in the Second W ...

. Russian troops from the

Kant Air Base Kant Air Base (russian: Авиабаза Кант ''Aviabaza Kant'') is a military air base in Ysyk-Ata District of Chüy Region in Kyrgyzstan. It is located just south of Kant, around 20 km east of Bishkek and is home to the Russian Air Force ...

also took part in the parade. In 2020, a planned parade due to be held at the same venue to mark the war's 75th anniversary was cancelled. On normal occasions, a short victory parade led by the Commander of the Bishkek Garrison is held at Victory Square. Parades have also been held in

Osh Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош, romanised Osh; uz, O‘sh/Ўш) is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country (e ...

, with notable attendees including First Deputy Prime Minister

Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev Mukhammetkalyy Duyshekeyevich Abylgaziyev ( ky, Мухамметкалый Дүйшекеевич (Дүйшеке уулу) Абылгазиев, Muhammetkaly Düyshekeyevich (Düysheke uulu) Abylgaziyev, ; born 20 January 1968) is a Kyrgyz poli ...

.

Republic of Moldova

On 15 April 2020, Moldovan President

Igor Dodon Igor Dodon (; born 18 February 1975) is a Moldovan politician who previously served as the president of Moldova from 23 December 2016 to 24 December 2020. He currently serves as the leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova. H ...

ordered the postponement of the diamond jubilee Victory Day celebrations on 9 May, the main event of which was supposed to be the Victory Parade on

Great National Assembly Square Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, to Liberation Day (24 August) due to the coronavirus pandemic in Moldova, marking also the 76th anniversary of national liberation in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive of 1944. It was expected also to mark the 29th anniversary of Moldovan independence, thus the parade was supposed to be a triple anniversary event and a prelude to the massive celebrations held in 2021 in honor of the country's 30th year of nationhood. The plans for the parade were cancelled in later July by order of the president due to the state mandated quarantine. Victory parades also took place in the Soviet era.

Serbia /Yugoslavia

Egzercir Garde VS - Odbrana slobode 2019 Niš 3

Victory Day Parades in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

are held frequently, the first of which was held by the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

on Bulevar revolucije in 1965, during the 20th anniversary. After that parade, it was held every 5 years. The last victory parade in the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

was held on the ruby jubilee in 1985 (branded as ''Parade 85''). On 10 May 2019, the first Victory Day Parade of the

Serbian Armed Forces The Serbian Armed Forces ( sr, Војска Србије, Vojska Srbije) is the military of Serbia. The President of Serbia acts as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by the Government o ...

in close to 35 years was held in the city of

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

(branded as "The Defence of Freedom").

Republic of Tajikistan

Victory Day parades of the

201st Motor Rifle Division The Russian 201st Military Base ( tg, Пойгоҳи низомии 201-и Русия; russian: 201-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, part of the Central Military Distric ...

in the Tajik SSR were held on

Dousti Square Dousti Square (; ) is a square in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It is connected to Rudaki Avenue and Hofizi Sherozi Avenue. It is the largest in Dushanbe. History The formation of the square began in the 1930s. Its first building was a 2-storeyed bu ...

in the capital of

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...

in 1965 and 1985. Parades are also held annually in Victory Park.

Turkmenistan

In 2020, the 75th anniversary of the victory in the war was celebrated with a military parade and festive celebrations. This was the first ever Victory Parade to be held since Turkmen independence was attained. Soldiers of the

Armed Forces of Turkmenistan The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Ýaragly Güýçleri), known informally as the Turkmen National Army () is the national military of Turkmenistan. It consists of the Turkmen Ground Forces, Ground Forces, the Turkmen Air F ...

took part in the parade, which was held at a square in front of the Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex in the capital of

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

, with a special appearance by Russian Deputy Minister of Defence

Alexander Fomin Alexander Vasilyevich Fomin (russian: Александр Васильевич Фомин, born May 25, 1959) is the Russian Deputy Minister of Defence. Biography Alexander Fomin was born on May 25, 1959, in Leninogorsk. He attended the Mil ...

. The parade featured a procession of various historical artifacts, including the banner of the 748th Infantry Regiment of the

206th Rifle Division The 206th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. Its first formation in March 1941 was based on the last prewar ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) for rif ...

of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...

(which was brought into the capital from Moscow) as well as the GAZ-M20 Pobeda parade car and battle vehicles from that era. The parade was held in spite of the coronavirus pandemic in the country and was one of two parades being held that year in the former Soviet Union, with the other being in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

.

Ukraine

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, as the second-largest former Soviet republic in terms of population, used to have some of the largest and most frequent victory parades. The first official proposal to celebrate Victory Day with a parade appeared at a meeting of the Central Committee of the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accord ...

on 27 March 1945. The first military parade since the liberation of Kyiv was held on International Workers Day (1 May), being dubbed in the local media as a "Victory Parade". The parade took place on Korolenko Street (now Vladimirskaya). During the latter half of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

's existence, parades were held in 1965 and 1990, with the planned 1985 parade being cancelled. After independence in 1991, the first parade was held in 1995 to celebrate the golden jubilee, and was held again in 2001,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, and 2011 until the last formal parade took place in 2013. Parades have also been held on a regular basis in the cities of

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

,

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, usually taking the form of a small march past nowadays rather than a full ceremony. From 2010 to 2013 Kharkiv's Freedom Square hosted an annual parade with the participation of the troops of the Kharkiv Garrison, military academies located in Kharkiv and troops from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The planned parade was cancelled for the first time in 2014 by order of the

Kyiv City State Administration Kyiv City State Administration ( uk, Київська міська державна адміністрація, translit=Kyivska miska derzhavna administratsiia), is the national-level branch of the Government of Ukraine that administers Kyiv, t ...

in light of the start

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

and the holiday's Russian connotations. Although Victory Day as a holiday has been altered completely and was recreated as a completely different national holiday following the events of the 2013-14

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

(known today as the Victory Day over Nazism in World War II), many Ukrainians still honor veterans in the traditional Victory Day style in terms of protocol. Only in the separatist-controlled parts of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

and Luhansk oblasts, since 2015, do the people completely celebrate the traditional Victory Day parades with military vehicles and soldiers marching past the main squares of the two cities, which are televised events and are also livestreamed online.

Uzbekistan

In 2018, a Victory Parade of the

Tashkent Military District The Tashkent Military District (, ), also known as the Tashkent Operational Command (, ) is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan based in the capital city of Tashkent. It serves the territory of the Tashkent Region ...

was held on its training ground in

Chirchik Chirchiq, also spelled as Chirchik, ( uz, Chirchiq / Чирчиқ; russian: Чирчик) is a district-level city in Tashkent Region, Uzbekistan. It is about 32 km northeast of Tashkent, along the river Chirchiq. Chirchiq lies in the Chatka ...

on the occasion of Day of Remembrance and Honour. Parades have also been held in

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

.

Parades held in partly recognized states

Republic of Abkhazia

Victory parades have been held in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

annually since 2009. This should not be confused with the Victory parade on 30 September in Sukhumi on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

. These parades are usually held at the Dioskurov Embankment in the capital.

Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania

Like its neighbor Abkhazia, South Ossetia has held annual Victory Day Parades in the capital of

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval ( os, Цхинвал, Чъреба, Tskhinval, Chreba, ; rus, Цхинва́л(и), r=Tskhinvál(i), ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, int ...

since 2009. All victory parades take place on Theatre Square and involve troops of the

Armed Forces of South Ossetia The Armed Forces of South Ossetia is the military of the partially recognised state of South Ossetia. The force consists of 16,000 soldiers: 2,500 officers and active-duty soldiers and 13,500 reservists. It includes an Army and an Air Corps. Th ...

. In 2020, for the first time, the parade was held on 24 June in line with the Moscow parade, with President Anatoly Bibilov not being attendance due to commitments in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, with the parade being presided instead by Prime Minister

Erik Pukhayev Erik Georgiyevich Pukhayev (Russian Эрик Георгиевич Пухаев; born 5 May 1957) was the Prime Minister of South Ossetia The Prime Minister of the Republic of South Ossetia, officially known as the Chairman of the Government ( ...

. During the parade, an equestrian team from the Border Administration of the Russian

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...

took part in the parade for the first time in history, with the equestrian ranks being led by an officer on a stallion called ''Brilliant'', a direct descendant of Idol (one of two stallions used in the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945), according to the local authorities. The parade also saw the introduction of female soldiers.

Artsakh Republic

The Victory Day (and Shushi Liberation Day) Parade is held on

Renaissance Square Renaissance Square is a high-rise complex located in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The complex includes two towers: One Renaissance Square at with 26 floors, and Two Renaissance Square at with 28 floors. Although a part of the same complex, To ...

in

Stepanakert / az, Xankəndi, italic=no , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:StepanakertCollage.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = From top left: Holy Mother ...

. It is only held on the jubilee anniversaries of the Capture of Shusha and the

Siege of Stepanakert The siege of Stepanakert started in late 1991, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, in Stepanakert, the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh, when the Azerbaijani forces circled the city. Until May 1992, the city and its Armenian population were ...

, both of which ended on Victory Day in 1992. The first parade in honor of the holiday was held in 1995 to celebrate the 3rd anniversary since liberation and the golden jubilee (50th anniversary) of the end of the Second World War. Subsequent parades were held in 1997, 2007, 2012 and 2017.

Donetsk People's Republic

To symbolize its Russian heritage, the authorities in the breakaway

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...

held its first parade in 2015. The inaugural parade was held at Artem Street on Lenin Square and was criticized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for violating the Minsk Protocol. It includes troops from the United Armed Forces of Novorossiya.

Luhansk People's Republic

The

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

has conducted parades in honor of Victory Day since 2015. The parades in the LPR are personally inspected by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the region and is presided by the operational head of the paramilitary forces.

Parades held in unrecognized states

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic

Victory Day parades in the

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

are held on

Suvorov Square Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

in Tiraspol. It is the first of two parades to be held every year, being held by the Armed Forces of Transnistria in conjunction with the Operational Group of Russian Forces. In addition to parades on jubilee years (2005, 2010 and 2015), it is also held annually. The parade was cancelled for the first time in 2020 and rescheduled to Republic Day on 2 September, marking the celebrations of the republic's pearl jubilee year.

Expanded summary of the parades within current and former countries

Victors Avenue, Minsk

The parade commander (the Deputy Defense Minister bearing the rank of Major General) arrives on

Victors Avenue Victors Avenue ( be, Праспект Пераможцаў, russian: Проспект Победителей) is a public avenue in Minsk, Belarus. History Until 1980, it was called the Park Highway. For a long time, the northwest center of Mins ...

to receive the report from the commander of the first parade formation (usually the

Military Academy of Belarus Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенная акадэмія Рэспублікі Беларусь, ) is higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Republic of Belarus and the leading insti ...

). The

President of Belarus The president of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Прэзідэнт Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Президент Республики Беларусь) is the head of state and head of government of Belarus. The office was cre ...

then arrives at the grandstand in front of the Minsk Hero City Obelisk to await the start of the parade before 10:00 in the morning. The parade commander gives the order to begin the review of the Minsk Garrison by the Defence Minister of Belarus, the parade presenting arms at that juncture and the massed bands of the Minsk Garrison under the

Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенна-аркестравая служба Узброеных Сіл Рэспублікі Беларусь, russian: Военно-оркестровая служ� ...

beginning to play inspection music under the baton of the Senior Director of Music. Then as the limousines stop in front of the grandstand and the massed bands stop playing the Deputy Defense Minister of Belarus reports to the Defense Minister on the status of the parade. The Defense Minister, having now been duly notified, then reviews the parading troops along the avenue in his vehicle, stopping a few times to send holiday greetings to a 4,000 strong ground column formation from the armed forces and other uniformed organizations while the massed bands play inspection music. As the defense minister concludes the inspection of the troops, he reports to the president on the readiness of the parade. A minute of silence then takes place, followed by a performance of the National Anthem of Belarus ( My Belarusy) by the massed bands. The president then delivers an address to the nation and congratulates the citizens on the holiday. As the president concludes the address, following a fanfare by the bands the parade commander then gives the order for the Minsk Garrison to get into their parade formations, and for the troops of the Honour Guard Company to take their post as linemen to mark the distance of the troops marching past the grandstand. The first unit to march, beating the snare drums, are the drummers of the Minsk Suvorov Military School, followed by cadets of special military high schools of the armed forces and public security organizations, and a colour guard consisting of the flag party ( Flag of Belarus,

Flag of the USSR The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), commonly known as the Soviet flag (), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from ...

, and Banner of Victory) the standards of the fronts which were involved in the 1944 Minsk Offensive, followed by historical companies, honoring both the regular Red Army and the Soviet Air Force that liberated the republic and the partisan movement that grew during the Nazi occupation. They consists of cadets of the

Military Academy of Belarus Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенная акадэмія Рэспублікі Беларусь, ) is higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Republic of Belarus and the leading insti ...

dressed in military uniforms of the historical period of the war and equipped Mosin rifles. This is followed by the rest of the parade ground column in the following arrangement as they march past the presidential grandstand: *

Military Academy of Belarus Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенная акадэмія Рэспублікі Беларусь, ) is higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Republic of Belarus and the leading insti ...

* Belarusian National Technical University * 120th Guards Separate Mechanized Brigade *

38th Guards Air Assault Brigade The 38th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade is a Special forces brigade of the Armed Forces of Belarus. It is currently based in Brest. The brigade was originally formed from the elements of the disbanded 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division ...

* 5th Special Operations Brigade * Battalion of women servicemen of the Armed Forces * Cadets of the Internal Troops College of the Military Academy of Belarus * Interior Ministry Troops * Special Purpose Police of Belarus * Company of women policemen of the Belarusian Police * State Border Committee Training Institute * Emergencies Ministry National University of Civil Defense * Territorial Defense of the Armed Forces *

Honor Guard of the Armed Forces of Belarus The Honor Guard Company of the Minsk Military Commandant (; ) is an honor guard unit of the Armed Forces of Belarus. Brief descriptor The company was formed on 22 January 1995 as a unit from the Minsk Air Defense and Rocket School and the Mins ...

The mobile column then follows, led up by a historical segment composed of military vehicles and equipment used during the days of the 1944 Minsk Offensive, followed on by the usual flypast by the Belarusian Air Force opened by a

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition to ...

helicopter. The passage of the mechanized column is traditionally opened by equipment from the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

such as the

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...

and the SU-100.

Victory Park, Dushanbe

According to tradition, a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier takes place at Victory Park. The ceremony is presided by the

President of Tajikistan The president of Tajikistan is the head of state and de facto head of government of the Republic of Tajikistan. The president heads the executive branch of the country's federal government and is the supreme commander in chief of the Armed Forc ...

, and the parade commander is a deputy minister in the Ministry of Defense holding the rank of a lieutenant general. Full order of the parade: * Military Brass Band of the Commandant Regiment of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan *

Presidential National Guard The National Guard (russian: Национальная гвардия Таджикистана; tg, Гвардияи миллии Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон), formerly called the Brigade of Special Mission and Presidential Guard, also ...

* Units of the Commandant Regiment of the Ministry of Defense * Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan *

Mastibek Tashmukhamedov Military Lyceum of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan Mastibek Tashmukhamedov Military Lyceum of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan () is a higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan. The lyceum is similar to Suvorov Mi ...

*

Russian 201st Military Base The Russian 201st Military Base ( tg, Пойгоҳи низомии 201-и Русия; russian: 201-я российская военная база) is a Russian military base based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, part of the Central Military Distric ...

* Honor Guard Company of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan

Letná Plain, Prague

It was on the large expanse of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

's Letná Plain (Letenská pláň), a large employ field that every 5 years on 9 May from 1951 to 1985 (formerly yearly until the 1960s) witnessed parades of the Czechoslovak People's Army in the federal capital of Czechoslovakia following a mix of the Soviet style and its own traditions in its grounds, celebrating both the victory in Europe and the conclusion of the successful Prague Uprising. A televised event since the 1950s, the President of Czechoslovakia, in his capacity as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (unless held by a separate person) and Supreme Commander in Chief of the People's Army, was the chief guest of honor of the parade. On the morning of the day, an estimated 9,000 military personnel, assembled by battalions on the square together with the Prague Garrison Massed Bands of around 400-800 bandsmen under the direction of the Senior Director of Music (formerly stationed in different parts of the grounds in the 1950s) were present, with the stands in Milada Horaková street filled up with together with veterans, veterans' families and the general public. At the main grandstand attached to

Letná Stadium Letná is a hill overlooking Prague historic centre and Vltava River just besides Prague Castle. It neighbours Stromovka, the largest park in Prague. The hill belongs to Holešovice and Bubeneč quarters of Prague 7. The main part of Letná is Le ...

were members of the Party Central Committee, the Cabinet, the Federal Assembly leadership and the chairmen of its two chambers, senior officers of the Ministry of National Defence and the General Staff, representatives of Soviet Armed Forces formations based in the republic and the diplomatic corps. The celebrations began at 10 am with the playing of the Presidential Fanfare, based on the Overture of the opera

Libuše , Libussa, Libushe or, historically ''Lubossa'', is a legendary ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty and the Czech people as a whole. According to legend, she was the youngest but wisest of three sisters, who became queen after their father died; s ...

, signalling the arrival of the president and if present, the Party General Secretary, with the Minister of National Defence, a billet of a General of the Army, informing the President of the presence of the parade. Later on, with the massed bands playing the ''Uvitaci Pochod'' by Václav Dobiáš, the parade commander, a general officer with either Lieutenant General or Colonel General rank, with the parade now in the present arms position as ordered, after the bands stop playing, informed the Minister of National Defence on his parade car after that the parade has now been formed up for inspection. Following the report, the parade inspector then reviewed the mobile column first and then the assembled formations, including representatives of the People's Militias and the formations of the Ministry of the Interior, including the Border Guard and the

National Security Corps Państwowy Korpus Bezpieczeństwa (Polish for "National Security Corps", abbreviated ''PKB''; sometimes also called ''Kadra Bezpieczeństwa'') was a Polish underground police force organized under German occupation during World War II by the Poli ...

, stopping at each unit to greet the assembled formations on the holiday. After all the formations have been inspected, the minister arrives back at the main grandstand to give the keynote address after the bands' trumpeters sound a bugle call. Following the keynote address a 21-gun salute resounded over the grounds as the massed bands played both ''Kde domov můj'' and ''State Anthem of the Soviet Union'' as the entire grandstand stood up in respect of the anthems, with all military and police personnel there saluting and the whole parade presented arms. Following the anthems the parade commander gave the command ''Order, Arms'' and the whole parade was ordered to stand at ease.

Kazakh Eli Square, Nur-Sultan

The traditional Victory Parade in the capital is held with the march on of the Flag of Kazakhstan and the Banner of Victory, before the

President of Kazakhstan The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Президенті, Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Prezidentı; russian: Президент Республики Казахстан, Prezident Respu ...

receives the report from the Defence Minister of Kazakhstan on the readiness of the parade. The minister and the president will then inspect the forces on parade, who will yell in a traditional greeting to their Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Once both officials arrive at the tribute, the present formally greets the troops before delivering a holiday address. Upon concluding the speech, the massed bands perform '' Meniŋ Qazaqstanym'' before the parade commander (the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces) sounds the orders to begin the parade. The parade is traditionally led by cadets of the Astana Zhas Ulan Republican School. They are then followed by contingents from the three services of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan ( Ground Forces, Air Defense Forces and the

Naval Forces A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inc ...

), the State Security Service, the National Guard, and the Territorial Troops, among other ground and air equipment.

External links

Official website of the 2019 Moscow parade360° panoramas
of the parade in QuickTime VR technology

Videos

Parade in honor of the 50th anniversary in Almaty

History of Military Parades On Red Square Documentary

1965 - 2020: как проходил Парад Победы во Владивостоке

Parade in Gyumri, Armenia

Тренировки девушек из роты почетного караула к параду 9 Мая в Екатеринбурге

References

{{reflist Victory parades Annual events in Moscow Events in Kyiv Events in Minsk Military parades in Russia Military parades in Ukraine Military parades in Belarus Annual events in Kazakhstan Annual events in Israel Military traditions

Victory Parades as a holiday tradition

Purpose

Parades in the Russian Federation

Red Square, Moscow

Russian parades held outside Moscow

Palace Square, St. Petersburg

Ship Embankment, Vladivostok

Lenin Square, Khabarovsk

1905 Square, Yekaterinburg

Lenin Square, Novorossiysk

Kazan Kremlin

Crimea

Russian parades outside the country

Incidents

History of parades in different countries

Parades held in recognized nations

Republic of Armenia

Republic of Belarus

Czechoslovakia

State of Israel

Republic of Kazakhstan

Kyrgyz Republic

Republic of Moldova

Serbia /Yugoslavia

Republic of Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

Parades held in partly recognized states

Republic of Abkhazia

Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania

Artsakh Republic

Donetsk People's Republic

Luhansk People's Republic

Parades held in unrecognized states

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic

Expanded summary of the parades within current and former countries

Victors Avenue, Minsk

Victory Park, Dushanbe

Letná Plain, Prague

Kazakh Eli Square, Nur-Sultan

See also

External links

Videos

References