2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade

The parade in 2010 is a special one. It will be the largest parade that has ever been held in Moscow during the post-Soviet years. More then 130 helicopters and aircrafts will used and the newest ICBM missiles will be seen.

The parade in 2010 is a special one. It will be the largest parade that has ever been held in Moscow during the post-Soviet years. More then 130 helicopters and aircrafts will used and the newest ICBM missiles will be seen.

Also this will be the first parade that include military units from other countries. France, Britain, United States and the Soviet Union’s major allies in World War II, will take part in the parade. If all is arranged as planned, it will be the first time when foreign military men will step on Red Square pavestones as participants of the parade. Russia invited only military attaches of foreign embassies for victory parades before.  Organizers of the parade said that this year spectators would have a chance to enjoy the parade both on the ground and in the air.

One Russian poet succinctly called Victory Day a holiday with tears. This is very true; in Russia May 9 is the day of triumph and gratitude to those who won the worst war – WWII. Russia played a main role in this war – no Allied country can compare in the number of destroyed enemy divisions, freed territories, or any other indicator.

But at the same time, this is a day of memory, a day of mourning, because it reminds one of the millions of Russian compatriots who were killed in action, tortured by the Nazis, died of hunger and backbreaking labor, or became disabled and suffered greatly. The last figure of the number of casualties is over 27 million, although it is probably closer to 30 million. Even China, which was involved in WWII seven years before it started in Europe, did not sustain such losses. The main victor of the war was also its main victim.

Sixty five years have passed since its end, but for many Russians this war is not a page in history but a part of their lives. It has left eternal wounds and mourning of losses in the hearts of people. This is why they innately feel it and pass to the generations to come.

There is probably no other country that cherishes so much the memories of WWII. In Russia, it is called the Great Patriotic War. Russian society has not been so unanimous on any other event in its history.