Today is Victory Day here in Russia-the most sacred of all public holidays. The country celebrates victory over Nazi Germany 24 hours later than it's World War II allies. Officially the war ended at midnight on May 8, 1945, but by then it was already the next day in Russia. The estimates of perished soldiers and civilians is up to 30 million. Those citizens who did not actually fight had to work in factories to make ammunition and supplies. They are also honored on Victory Day. It would not be until June 24, 1945, that the USSR held a proper victory parade. The pompous and glorious parade through Red Square was held annually from 1945 to 1990, when Gorbachev cancelled such festivities. Full-scale, Soviet-style parades returend to Red Square on May 9, 2008 which coincided with the inauguration of the newly elected Russian president.
Darron and I got up at 7:15am (on a SATURDAY) since we were told that the parade begins near where we live and heads toward the Kremlin. We never saw anything. Apparently they decided this year to start somewhere else! We were so disappointed that we didnt' get to see all the tanks! Red Square (where all the festivities took place) was open by invitation only. We didn't get one. Must have gotten lost in the mail! :-) We were able to see it on Russian tv at least.
Next year we'll be brave and try to get closer to downtown so we can see some of the action! I am going to try and find a video online to post a bit later for your viewing pleasure!
You want to get to Tverskaya, north of the Garden Ring. You can see it all and, while it is crowded, it's not a mob scene.
ReplyDeleteUntil you get that video up, we readers can see some great photos at Boston Globe's The Big Picture.
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