![]() Victory Day was the only major public holiday that made the transition to post-Soviet Russia. Military parades remained reserved for special anniversaries until the USSR’s collapse. Still, many people continued to commemorate the war among family, friends and comrades in arms. Private practices, such as visiting cemeteries or giving flowers to war veterans, were incorporated into official events. May 9 became a day of public celebrations, family outings, concerts and fireworks – all broadcast on national television. In the following years, massive war memorials were erected throughout the Soviet Union. This marked the beginning of the cult of the great patriotic war. That year, the Victory Day parade was held on the Red Square in Moscow for first time since 1945. The day only became an official public holiday in 1965 on the 20th anniversary of Germany’s surrender in Europe. In the first post-war decades, May 9 was a regular working day when families and military units quietly came together to remember and mourn their dead. Across the vast Soviet empire, there was scarcely a household left untouched by the war. The Soviet Union sustained the biggest losses during the second world war, with roughly 27 million soldiers and civilians left dead and many cities levelled to the ground. The most striking change is the cancellation of the “Immortal Regiment” marches, which have been the centrepiece of civic commemorations of Victory Day over the past ten years. In several regions, including Crimea and the Kursk and Belgorod oblasts that border Ukraine, the traditional military parades will not take place at all. Many of the day’s features - the parades, songs and commemorative practices - date back to the Soviet era.īut this year’s celebrations will be scaled down. The public and the state come together in a patriotic celebration during which people remember their family members who sacrificed their lives to defeat Nazism. ![]() Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe is the most important holiday in Russia. It certainly earned the mockery as a result.Russians celebrate the end of the “great patriotic war” on May 9 each year. As a result, Tuesday's Victory Parade resembled what one might expect at a large-sized military vehicle show in Western Europe or the United States. The issue could be that in addition to the loss of tanks in Ukraine, Russia has lost significant numbers of tank crews. The Kremlin famously had gone to great efforts to acquire the vehicles for use in parades and patriotic-themed movies, even purchasing around 20 antique tanks from Laos in 2019. Yet, a question that wasn't asked on social media is why Russia didn't deploy more of its World War II-era T-34s. Russia likely had no "modern" tanks to spare. In addition, videos have circulated on social media in recent months showing the deployment of older hardware from the Cold War, including T-54/55 and T-62 tanks – most older than the crews operating them – being sent on railcars to the front. ![]() Russia was almost certainly forced to scale back the display of tanks and other armored vehicles due to the fact that it has lost significant numbers of modern equipment in the fighting in Ukraine.
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