Airborne Forces Day also known as Paratroopers' Day is a professional military holiday observed in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, celebrated on 2 August annually. It was formerly celebrated in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

until its collapse in 1991. It was celebrated in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

as Airmobile Forces Day from 1999 until 2017. It is the official holiday of the former

Soviet Airborne Forces The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed b ...

and the modern

Russian Airborne Forces The Russian Airborne Forces () is the airborne separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a rapid response force and strategic reserve that is under the President of Russia, reporting directly to the Chief of the General Staff, and ...

History

The birthday of the Airborne Forces is considered to be 2 August 1930. On this day at

military exercises A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of warfare or test tactics and strat ...

of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

, a 12 member paratrooper unit was parachuted for performing a tactical task. Airborne Forces Day is currently celebrated on 2 August, on the basis of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 31, 2006 “On the Establishment of Professional Holidays and Memorable Days in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". In

, from 1999 to 2017 Airmobile Forces Day day was celebrated on 2 August. From 2017 Ukraine’s Airmobile Forces were renamed Air Assault Forces, their traditions revised, and a new declared 21 November, which is the day of the patron of the paratroopers,

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

.Khreshchatyk and Monster dungeons from Maidan. What is hidden under the fountains of Kyiv

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(14 August 2020) According to President

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiiovych Poroshenko (born 26 September 1965) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and Oligarchy, oligarch who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine), Minister ...

this move was "

Ukrainianization Ukrainization or Ukrainisation ( ) is a policy or practice of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture in various spheres of public life such as education, ...

of the historical and political calendar - to replace the Soviet-Russian imposed on us."Instead of airborne troops in Ukraine there will be Airborne Assault Troops

BBC Ukrainian BBC News Ukrainian () is the Ukrainian service of BBC News which conveys the latest political, social, economical and sport news relevant to Ukraine and the world. It started broadcasts in 1992.Бі-Бі-Сі – зрозуміти світ, BBC ...

(21 November 2017)

Celebrations

Airborne Forces Day, which is a professional holiday for active and reserve airborne troops, is traditionally celebrated throughout Russia, Belarus and other countries. During the holiday, many cities traditionally held demonstrations of paratroopers, concerts, charity events, festivals, crafts fairs and souvenirs exhibition and sale. In some Russian cities, it is customary to turn off the fountains on the day of the Airborne Forces and to release all employees responsible for their work on a day off. This is done in order to reduce the damage from the celebration.

Common meeting places

*In

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

, veterans are found in the Central Park of Culture and Rest named after Gorky. *In

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

, veterans are found in the Shcherbakov Park and near the monument to the fallen Afghan warriors. *In

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, the meeting places of veterans included the

National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War () is a memorial complex commemorating the German-Soviet War located in the southern outskirts of the Pechersk district of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, on the picturesque hi ...

, a monument to soldiers-internationalists, and less often,

Maidan Nezalezhnosti Maidan Nezalezhnosti (, ) or Independence Square is the central town square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchenko Raion. The square contains the iconic Ind ...

. The

Ukrainian Air Assault Forces The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine ( AAFU; , , ), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces, are the airborne forces of Ukraine. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Ukraine-based units from the Soviet Airborne Forc ...

now celebrates its own holiday on 21 November. *In

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, the traditional places for annual meetings of the Blue Berets are Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure and Poklonnaya Gora. The capital's first ever Paratroopers Day parade was held in 2018 on the southern part of

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

near

Saint Basil's Cathedral The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed (), known in English as Saint Basil's Cathedral, is an Orthodox church in Red Square of Moscow, and is one of the most popular cultural symbols of Russia. The building, now a museum, is officially known as ...

and the

Monument to Minin and Pozharsky The Monument to Minin and Pozharsky () is a bronze statue designed by Ivan Martos and located on the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. The statue commemorates two Russian national heroes Prince Dmitry Pozharsky a ...

marking 88 years of the Airborne Forces. *In

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, traditional meeting places include Krestovsky Island and

Palace Square Palace Square ( rus, Дворцо́вая пло́щадь, r=Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, p=dvɐrˈtsovəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersb ...

. *In

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, paratroopers meet on Victory Square.

Notes

References

External links