Victory Day parade in Moscow | World News |Axisoflogic.com

Overlooking Red Square. In the centre is the Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed. On the right background, the Saviour Tower (part of the Kremlin), in the foreground, the State History Museum.

On May 9, celebratory events are being held across 150 Russian cities and in some former Soviet states. According to the Kremlin, 30 leaders of states, governments and international organizations attended the parade in Moscow.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova also took part in the celebrations.

Russia demonstrated a number of brand new weapons systems during the event, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns and anti-tank missile systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked the countries of the allied coalition during the World War II and the anti-fascists of different countries in his speech at the Victory Day parade.

The victory will "forever remain the heroic apex in the history of our country. But we also remember our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. We are grateful to the people of the United Kingdom, France and the United States for their contribution."

The Russian leader also expressed his gratitude to the anti-fascists of different countries, including Germany itself, who valiantly fought in the partisan squads during the war.

The World War II lasted from 1939 until 1945, involving 61 countries. The Allies of WWII, comprising the Soviet Union, the United States, France and China, among others, fought against the Axis, formed by states including Germany, Japan and Italy.

Putin appeared disappointed that other nations who had been affected by the war were unable to put aside their differences to attend this ceremony. Regardless of present tensions between nations, it is the past that was being honoured.

This weekend marks the end of the war in Europe. More than 40 million people died on the continent as a result of the war. At least 27 million of the casualties were civilians and military losses of the Soviet Union.

While Moscow's grand celebrations of Victory have garnered the attention of the entire world, Victory Day parades also took place across over two dozen Russian cities, with special events dedicated to the grand celebration organized in over 120 more, including in space.

But while Moscow's parade has concentrated most of the foreign press's coverage, millions more Russians across the massive country's 11 time zones held their own festivities across over 26 cities. Overall, the parades garnered millions of spectators, and featured over 44,200 military personnel, 1,340 pieces of military equipment, over 245 aircraft and 45 ships.

Former Soviet States Also Mark Celebration With Large Parades
In addition to the parades held across Russia, several states of the former Soviet Union have held their own celebrations of the Great Victory. This included grand parades in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan and Minsk, Belarus. Bishkek's parade featured 2,000 servicemen and nearly 100 pieces of military equipment, while Minsk's included 5,000 personnel and 250 pieces of mechanized equipment. Kazakhstan held its parade dedicated to victory two days earlier in Astana, featuring over 5,000 military servicemen and 200 pieces of military equipment.

Sky's Not the Limit
Russians' celebration of Victory wasn't limited to the surface of the planet. Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Mikhail Kornienko, and Gennady Padalka, presently in orbit over the earth aboard the International Space Station, sent their congratulations to the people of Earth.

A Parade in the World's Newest Republic
A Military Parade in honor of Victory Day took place in Donetsk and from now on it will become a tradition as it is in all countries that suffered during the Great Patriotic War.

The Army of the Donetsk People's Republic

The Parade was attended by a thousand DPR soldiers and about 30 military units. Among those who attended were the students of the military school, the rescuers, the internal forces, the Republican Guard and other units of the army of Donetsk People's Republic. This is now an army, no longer a militia.

People were carrying pictures of their parents and relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War.

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