The 1977 October Revolution Parade was a military parade that took place in the Red Square in

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 ...

on 7 November 1977 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

. The annual parade marks the protest of the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

against the

Tsarist autocracy Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states th ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. The Soviet Communist Party General Secretary

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 ...

and Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin attended the parade, among other foreign leaders from

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 ...

and allied countries who decided to fly in for the celebrations.

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Dmitry Ustinov delivered his second holiday address to the

Soviet people Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in t ...

on this day, right after the parade inspection that had been presided over by him and led by the commander of the Moscow Military District Colonel General Vladimir Govorov. Music was performed by the Combined

Military Band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

of the Moscow Garrison conducted by Colonel Nikolai Mikhailov. As per tradition, 14 other Soviet Cities (including

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) held their parades on this day. A folding stock version of the AK-47 appeared in the contingent of troops from the Soviet Airborne Forces. This parade included the updated

anthem of the Soviet Union The "State Anthem of the Soviet Union" was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original lyrics were written b ...

International dignitaries

Parade units

Military bands

* Massed Bands of the Moscow Military District under the direction of Major General Nikolai Mikhailov, Senior Director of Music of the Bands Service * Corps of Drums of the

Moscow Military Music School The Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College is one of the leading military music institutions in Russia. It is a separate branch of the Suvorov Military Schools in Russia, and the oldest of them all (opened 1937). History On Augu ...

Ground column

Leading the column was the limousine carrying the parade commander, Col. General Vladimir Govrov, the commanding general of Moscow Military District. * Color Guard Unit *

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

* V.I. Lenin Military Political Academy * Felix Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy * Military Armored Forces Academy Marshal Rodion Malinovsky * Military Engineering Academy * Military Academy of Chemical Defense and Control * Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy * Prof. Nikolai Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy * Naval Engineering Institute * Moscow Border Guards Institute of the Border Defence Forces of the KGB "Moscow City Council" * Active military units: **

98th Guards Airborne Division The 98th Guards Airborne Division is an airborne division of the Russian Airborne Troops, currently based in Ivanovo. Russian 98th Airborne Division patch.svg, 98th Guards Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia (1993) History During the Se ...

OMSDON The Separate Operational Purpose Division or ODON, formerly called OMSDON (a.k.a. ''Felix Dzerzhinsky, Dzerzhinsky Division''), is a rapid deployment internal security Division (army), division of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal ...

** 336th Marine Regiment of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

Suvorov Military School The Suvorov Military Schools (russian: Суворовское военное училище) are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on mil ...

* Nakhimov Naval School * Moscow Military High Command Training School "Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR"

Mobile column

The parade saw the return of military tanks after a two-year hiatus. The highlight was the

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...

tank was first publicly seen at this parade. The parade also featured a full return to the iconic armor columns and missiles in the second half of the military portion of the parade.

Gallery

File:Moscow 1977-11-07-11.jpg,

Saint Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed ( rus, Собо́р Васи́лия Блаже́нного, Sobór Vasíliya Blazhénnogo), commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most pop ...

before the parade File:Red Square 1977-11-07-19.jpg, Tanks on Red Square File:Red Square 1977-11-07-10.jpg, Troops of the Nakhimov Military Academy on Red Square File:Red Square 1977-11-07-9.jpg, Corps of Drummers of the Moscow Suvorov Military Academy File:Red Square 1977-11-07-7.jpg, 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 ...

during the parade File:Red Square 1977-11-07-30.jpg, The Massed Bands during the parade finale File:Red Square 1977-11-07-4.jpg, Spasskaya Tower during the parade File:Red Square 1977-11-07-32.jpg, Demonstrations during the parade

References

{{Annual Great October Socialist Revolution Parade November 1977 events in Europe 1977 in Moscow 1977 in the Soviet Union October Revolution parades