Victory parade – a move to the future

25 Heads of State and Government have reaffirmed their decision to take part in the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism in Moscow on May 9th, says the Kremlin’s chief property manager Vladimir Kozhin.

Among those who will attend the celebrations are the leaders of Germany, Italy, France and the Czech Republic. The final list has not been made yet.

But US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not appear in Moscow for valid reasons. The highlight of the celebrations will be the Victory Parade in Red Square. Marching in Red Square will be Russian servicemen, and also military units from the Allied Nations. The UK is due to be represented by a battalion of the Welsh Guards Regiment that fought against Nazi Germany from 1940. France will be represented by pilots and aircraft of the famous Normandie-Nieman Air Regiment, who fought Nazis as part of Soviet troops.

The 2nd battalion of the US 18th Infantry Regiment, which was the first to disembark in Normandy, is due to represent the US Army. The US battalion will be followed by the Guards of Honour of the Polish People’s Army, who was also active in fighting the Nazis.

Also marching past across Red Square will be composite battalions of the armed forces of the CIS countries, specifically Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine, to name just a few. By request of the Turkmen government, the officer leading his country’s infantry square will be on horse-back. The horse will be expressly flown in to Moscow from Ashkhabad.         

"The fact that today’s governments of the former Allied Nations are sending their military units to Moscow for the forthcoming Victory Parade is evidence that the Second World War results are unshakable and can never be revised," the Kremlin’s Chief Property Manager Vladimir Kozhin said. "This way we pay tribute to all those who won that Victory. But this is also a future-oriented move, one that will help forget about the Cold War enabling the future generations of modern-day officers to never again look at each other through gun sights (while keeping them in a high state of readiness to counter the existing, and very real, new threats of the 21st century).         

The Allied Nations’ war veterans, specifically Americans, are also due to turn up in Moscow to celebrate the 65th Victory Day. They are due both in Moscow and Vladivostok, where US naval vessels are scheduled to arrive.         

It is not only in Red Square that the May 9th Victory Parade will be held. Official marches-past involving troops and military hardware are due in 72 Russian cities, and also in Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Dozens of thousands of war veterans and servicemen, and more than a thousand units of military hardware are due to take part in the celebrations of the 65th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany.