A FEW FACTS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HOLIDAY

The history of the Victory Day holiday dates back to May 9, 1945, when the act of complete surrender was signed Nazi Germany. Despite the fact that some military operations continued after May 9, this day is considered the day of Germany's defeat. In Western countries, it is customary to celebrate the end of World War II in Europe on May 8, since it was on that day, Central European time, at 22:43, that the act of surrender was signed. In Moscow, with its two-hour time difference, May 9 has already arrived. On the same day I.V. Stalin signed a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that May 9 becomes a public holiday, Victory Day, and is declared a day off. At 6 a.m. Moscow time this Decree was read out on the radio announcer Levitan, andin the evening in Moscow the Victory Salute was given, the largest in the history of the USSR: thirty salvos were fired from a thousand guns.

The first full celebration in honor of the victory in the Great Patriotic War took place only on June 24, 1945. Start significant event was marked by a parade commanded by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The parade was hosted by Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, one of the most famous military leaders of the 20th century. In other cities of the USSR in honor great date celebratory fireworks were displayed.

In 1947, this significant holiday was recognized as a regular working day, which automatically canceled parades and other large-scale events. And only in 1965, in the year of the twentieth anniversary of the victory, May 9 was restored as a national holiday.

holiday attributes

Festive fireworks

The first fireworks in Moscow were given in honor of the successful offensive Soviet army on the Oryol and Belgorod directions on August 5, 1943. At that time, the USSR had neither special fireworks units nor fireworks ammunition with equipment. The salute was carried out “with improvised means” by artillery crews of the air defense forces and the garrison of the Moscow Kremlin. After this, a tradition was established of arranging fireworks in honor of the successes of the Soviet army in battles with the Nazis.

A large-scale fireworks display was held after the liberation of Kharkov. This fireworks display was very beautiful: hundreds of signal and lighting flares soared into the sky, lined with tracer bullets from anti-aircraft machine guns. Their bullets were later found embedded in the asphalt, and there were even casualties from them. For this reason, machine guns were no longer used during fireworks.

The most grandiose fireworks display was held on Victory Day, May 9, 1945 at 22-oo. Thirty salvoes were fired from a thousand, mostly anti-aircraft, guns. The sky was illuminated by the festive illumination of searchlights from the air defense forces.

Victory Banner

The banner, taken from the Reichstag, where it was hoisted by Egorov and Meliton Kantaria, did not participate in the first Victory Parade. It bore the name of the 150th division, where the soldiers served, and the country's leadership considered that such a banner could not be a symbol of Victory, which was achieved by the whole people, and not by one division. This historical injustice was corrected only much later, already during the Brezhnev era.

Holiday Parade

The Victory Parade in Russia is traditionally held on Red Square in Moscow. In addition to Moscow, May 9 Parades are held in other cities of the country.

The first Parade in honor of the Victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War took place on June 24, 1945 on Red Square. It was prepared very carefully. Rehearsals took place for a month and a half. Soldiers and officers learned to take steps at a frequency of 120 steps per minute. First, stripes were drawn on the asphalt along the length of the step, and then they even pulled strings that helped set the height of the step. The boots were covered with a special varnish, in which the sky was reflected as if in a mirror, and metal plates were nailed to the soles, which helped to stamp the step. The Parade began at ten o'clock in the morning, almost all this time it was raining, sometimes turning into downpour. About forty thousand people took part in the Parade. Zhukov and Rokossovsky rode to Red Square on white and black horses, respectively. I.V. Stalin only watched the parade from the podium of the Lenin Mausoleum. The parade ended with the exit of 200 standard bearers, each of whom threw the flag of the German army to the foot of the Mausoleum.

In 1948, the tradition of holding festive parades on Red Square was interrupted and resumed in the anniversary year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory - in 1965. After the breakup Soviet Union Victory Day parades stopped again for a while. They were revived again only in the anniversary year of 1995, when two parades were held in Moscow at once: the first (on foot) on Red Square and the second (with the participation of vehicles) at the Poklonnaya Gora memorial complex. Since then, Victory Parades have been held on Red Square every year.

GEORGIAN RIBBON

Since 2005, the “St. George Ribbon” campaign has been held annually in Russia. I remember! I’m proud!”, during which everyone can receive a small St. George’s ribbon for free - a symbol of memory and respect for the feat of our people, who won the Great Victory over fascism. It traces its history from the ribbon to the soldier's Order of St. George the Victorious, established on November 26, 1769 by Empress Catherine II. This ribbon, with minor changes, entered the USSR award system as the “Guards Ribbon” - a sign of special distinction for soldiers. The block of the very honorable “soldier’s” Order of Glory is covered with it. St. George Ribbon- bicolor (two-color). The colors of the ribbon are black (meaning smoke) and yellow-orange (flame),are a sign of a soldier’s personal valor on the battlefield.

DID YOU KNOW...

During the Great Patriotic War, not only people, but also entire cities became heroes. Hero cities were first mentioned in the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces on May 1, 1945. This is how Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Sevastopol, Stalingrad (since 1961 - Volgograd) and Odessa were named. The title "Hero City" was officially established on the 20th anniversary of the Victory - May 8, 1965. On this day, it was awarded to Moscow, Volgograd, Kyiv, Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, and the Brest Fortress - the title “Hero-Fortress”. In subsequent years, this title was awarded to Kerch, Minsk, Murmansk, Novorossiysk, Smolensk, and Tula. In May 2006, the Law on the title “City of Military Glory” was adopted. Currently, 27 cities hold this title.

“Molotov cocktail”: that’s what the Germans called our Molotov cocktails. But they were not invented by diplomat V.M. Molotov, and Lieutenant General A.I. Eremenko. In July 1941, he ordered that 10 thousand glass bottles be filled with a mixture of gasoline and phosphorus-containing substances in a warehouse in Gomel. This composition was used in flamethrowers. These homemade grenades were convenient to hold and throw at enemy tanks. The Molotov cocktail turned out to be a simple and highly effective anti-tank weapon.

The Battle of the ancient Russian city of Rzhev was the longest battle of World War II. It lasted 14 months - from January 1942 to March 1943. Near Rzhev, the Germans left almost 80% of their tanks and about 300 thousand killed soldiers and officers.

The first retaliatory bombing strike on Berlin was carried out by our five DB-3F bombers on the night of August 8, 1941.

During Battle of Kursk On July 6, 1943, Soviet pilot Senior Lieutenant Alexander Gorobets single-handedly entered into battle with 20 enemy bombers. The battle lasted only 15 minutes, during which time Gorobets destroyed 9 fascist aircraft. This has never happened in the history of world aviation.

The best fighter pilot in the aviation of the allied countries that fought against Nazi Germany was Three-time Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. He went to the front in March 1943 and until May 1945 he made 330 combat missions, conducted 120 air battles and shot down 62 enemy aircraft.

The most famous Soviet submariner is captain third rank Alexander Marinesko. He commanded the submarine S-13 in the Baltic Fleet. On January 30, 1945, the S-13 attacked the “invulnerable” fascist liner Wilhelm Gustlow, sending several thousand enemy soldiers and officers to the bottom. Military historians call the sinking of the Gustlov the “attack of the century.”

The BM-13 (Combat Machine-13) rocket launcher is known as the famous “Katyusha”. But they didn’t immediately nickname her “Katyusha”. At first, our soldiers called this weapon “Raisa Semyonovna”, as if deciphering the abbreviation “RS” - “missiles”. And then someone noticed that the car had a factory mark in the form of the letter “K” (BM-13 was produced at the Moscow Kompressor plant) - and so the name “Katyusha” was born. And the song about the girl Katyusha was very popular then.

Taran is a Russian technique. For the day of June 22, 1941 Soviet pilots carried out at least 16 air rams. In the first, most difficult year of the war, our pilots rammed about 400 times, and during the entire war - no less than 636. One out of three survived.

Shoulder straps in our army were introduced in 1943; before that they were replaced by buttonholes - rectangular stripes of different colors on the collars of tunics and jackets. And the insignia showing military rank were ordinary geometric shapes- triangles, squares. rectangles. Only generals had stars on their buttonholes.

During the Great Patriotic War, an anti-tank obstacle called a hedgehog, welded from scraps of railway rails, was widely used. The German tank crews, seeing such an obstacle for the first time, were sure that they would simply crush it under them. However, when the car bumped into a hedgehog, it rolled under the bottom of the tank, tore its tracks off the ground and it stopped. If a hedgehog got into a caterpillar, he simply tore it up.

The ration of a Leningrader from November 20, 1941 was: workers - 250 grams of bread per day, employees, dependents and children under 12 years old - 125 grams, first-line troops - 500 grams. Leningrad was under siege for 900 days. About a million people became victims of the blockade, dying from hunger, disease, shelling and bombing.

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POEMS FOR THE HOLIDAY

Even then we were not in the world

When fireworks thundered from one end to another.

Soldiers, you gave to the planet

Great May, victorious May!

Even then we were not in the world,

When in a military storm of fire,

Deciding the fate of future centuries,

You fought a holy battle!

Thank you, soldiers.

For life, for childhood and spring,

For silence, for a warm home,

For the world we live in!

M. Vladimov

***

Even if we weren't at the front in those days,

They didn’t huddle in dugouts in three layers,

Those who forged Victory in '45.

Even if we didn’t walk even a meter in battles,

Forced marches didn't hurt our backs,

But we are still grandchildren, daughters, sons

Those who danced on the streets of Berlin.

May on this unforgettable day of spring

Fireworks will sparkle on military awards

For everyone who endured the hardships of war

And he brought us Victory in '45...

Anatoly KUZNETSOV

May 9 is celebrated in Russia national holiday- Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, in which Soviet people fought for the freedom and independence of his homeland against fascist Germany and her allies. The Great Patriotic War was the most important and decisive part World War II 1939-1945

The Great Patriotic War began at dawn on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Romania, Italy took her side, and a few days later Hungary, Slovakia and Finland.

(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

The war lasted almost four years and became the largest armed conflict in human history. On a huge front stretching from the Barents to the Black Sea, from 8 to 12.8 million people fought on both sides at different periods, from 5.7 to 20 thousand tanks and assault guns, from 84 to 163 thousand guns and mortars were used, from 6.5 to 18.8 thousand aircraft. The history of wars has never known such a huge scale of combat operations and the concentration of such a large mass of military equipment.

Act of unconditional surrender Nazi Germany was signed in the suburbs of Berlin on May 8 at 22:43 Central European time (Moscow time on May 9 at 0:43). It is because of this time difference that the Day of the End of World War II is celebrated on May 8 in Europe, and on May 9 in the Soviet Union.

And only in 1965, the year of the twentieth anniversary of the victory Soviet troops, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, May 9 was again declared a non-working day. The holiday was given an exclusively solemn status, and a special anniversary medal was established. On May 9, 1965, a military parade was held on Red Square in Moscow, and the Victory Banner was carried in front of the troops.

Since then, Victory Day has always been celebrated very solemnly in the USSR, and holding military parades on May 9 has become a tradition. Streets and squares were decorated with flags and banners. At 7 pm a minute of silence was declared in memory of the victims. Mass meetings of veterans in the center of Moscow have become traditional.

On May 9, 1991, the last parade of the USSR era took place, and no parades were held until 1995. In 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Victory, a military parade was held in Moscow along Kutuzovsky Prospekt near Poklonnaya Gora. Samples of military equipment were demonstrated there, and columns of veterans marched along Red Square.

Since 1996, the tradition of holding military parades on the main square of the country was enshrined in the law “On the perpetuation of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” According to it, parades should take place not only in Moscow, but also in hero cities, and in cities where the headquarters of military districts and fleets are located. The participation of military equipment is not stipulated in the law.

Since then, parades have been held annually. On Victory Day, meetings of veterans are held, special events and concerts. Wreaths and flowers are laid at monuments of military glory, memorials, and mass graves, and guards of honor are displayed. Memorial services are held in churches and temples in Russia.

Every year on this day in the hero cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Novorossiysk, Tula, Smolensk and Murmansk, as well as in the cities of Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Chita, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Severomorsk and A festive artillery salute is performed in Sevastopol. The first fireworks on the occasion of Victory Day were fired in Moscow on May 9, 1945, with 30 salvos from a thousand guns.

Since 2005, the patriotic event “St. George’s Ribbon” has been held with the goal of returning and instilling the value of the holiday in the younger generation. On the eve of the celebration of Victory Day, everyone can tie a “St. George Ribbon” on their hand, bag or car antenna in memory of the heroic past of the USSR, as a symbol of military valor, Victory, military glory and recognition of the merits of front-line soldiers.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Great day, the day of the surrender of Nazi Germany! And although the war continued for some time until Japan received Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for Soviet people It was May 9 that marked the end of World War II.

We hope that this selection of photographs will raise your patriotic spirit and remind you of that terrible war, which should not happen again. And at the same time, we congratulate all veterans on this heroic feat. Low bow and praise to you! We remember, appreciate, respect!

Red banners on the quadriga of the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin. May 1945. (Archive photos)

Soviet soldiers on the streets of Berlin. May 1945. (Archive photos)

Fireworks in honor of the Victory. On the roof of the Reichstag, soldiers of the battalion under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Andreevich Neustroev. May 1945. (Archive photos)

Red Army troops on the streets of Bucharest, 1944. (Archive photos)

Signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the German Armed Forces, Berlin. On the left at the table is the representative of the USSR, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. May 8, 1945. (Archive photos)

Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signs the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany, Berlin. May 8, 1945. (Archive photos)

Meeting the Victory Banner at the airport in Moscow. The Victory Banner is carried through the Central Moscow Airfield on the day of its arrival in Moscow from Berlin. At the head of the column is Captain Varennikov. June 20, 1945. (Archive photos)

Meeting of the Red Army in Bulgaria. (Archive photos)

Liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland. February 1945. (Archive photos)

On the Neva during festive fireworks on Victory Day, Leningrad. May 9, 1945. (Archive photos)

T-34-85 at the Victory Parade, Moscow. (Archive photos)

Red Army troops at the Victory Parade, Moscow. (Archive photos)

Rally, dedicated to the Day Victory over Nazi Germany. Speech by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Bolsheviks of the Karelo-Finnish SSR Gennady Nikolaevich Kupriyanov in Petrozavodsk. May 9, 1945. (Archive photos)

Meeting of victorious warriors. Belorussky railway station, Moscow. May 1945. (Archive photos)

The Soviet delegation before signing the Act of Unconditional Surrender of All armed forces Germany. On the right is the representative of the Supreme High Command of the Red Army, the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, on the left is the deputy commander of the 1st Belorussian Front, Army General Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky. (Archive photos)

Red Army troops on the streets of Belgrade. October 1944. (Archive photos)

Soviet soldiers drink to Victory - at the general formation of the unit, the Victory over Nazi Germany is announced. May 9, 1945. (Archive photos)

Echelon “We are from Berlin”. (Archive photos)

The solemn ceremony of handing over the Victory Banner to the military commandant of Berlin, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General Nikolai Erastovich Berzarin for sending to Moscow. May 20, 1945. (Archive photos)

Soviet soldiers and officers drink with the Americans for the Victory. (Archive photos)

70 years ago, on June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place on Red Square in Moscow. It was a triumph of the victorious Soviet people, who defeated Nazi Germany, which led the united forces of Europe in the Great Patriotic War.

The decision to hold a parade in honor of the victory over Germany was made by Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin shortly after Victory Day - in mid-May 1945. Deputy Chief General Staff Army General S.M. Shtemenko recalled: “The Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered us to think over and report to him our thoughts on the parade to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany, and indicated: “We need to prepare and hold a special parade. Let representatives of all fronts and all branches of the military take part in it..."

On May 24, 1945, the General Staff presented Joseph Stalin with its considerations for holding a “special parade.” The Supreme Commander accepted them, but postponed the date of the parade. The General Staff asked for two months to prepare. Stalin gave instructions to hold the parade in a month. On the same day, the commanders of the Leningrad, 1st and 2nd Belorussian, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts received a directive from the Chief of the General Staff, Army General Alexei Innokentyevich Antonov, to hold a parade:

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered:

1. To participate in the parade in the city of Moscow in honor of the victory over Germany, select a consolidated regiment from the front.

2. Form the consolidated regiment according to the following calculation: five two-company battalions of 100 people in each company (ten squads of 10 people). In addition, 19 people command staff based on: regiment commander - 1, deputy regiment commanders - 2 (for combat and political affairs), regimental chief of staff - 1, battalion commanders - 5, company commanders - 10 and 36 flag bearers with 4 assistant officers. In total there are 1059 people in the combined regiment and 10 reserve people.

3. In a consolidated regiment, have six companies of infantry, one company of artillerymen, one company of tank crews, one company of pilots and one composite company (cavalrymen, sappers, signalmen).

4. The companies should be staffed so that the squad commanders are mid-level officers, and in each squad there are privates and sergeants.

5. Personnel To participate in the parade, select from among the soldiers and officers who most distinguished themselves in battle and have military orders.

6. Arm the combined regiment with: three rifle companies - with rifles, three rifle companies - with machine guns, a company of artillerymen - with carbines on their backs, a company of tankers and a company of pilots - with pistols, a company of sappers, signalmen and cavalrymen - with carbines on their backs, cavalrymen, in addition - checkers.

7. The front commander and all commanders, including the aviation and tank armies, arrive at the parade.

8. The consolidated regiment arrive in Moscow on June 10, 1945, with 36 combat banners, the most distinguished formations and units of the front in battles, and all enemy banners captured in battle, regardless of their number.

9. Ceremonial uniforms for the entire regiment will be issued in Moscow.

Defeated Standards Hitler's troops

IN festive event Ten consolidated regiments of the fronts and a consolidated regiment of the Navy were to participate. Students of military academies, cadets of military schools and troops of the Moscow garrison, as well as military equipment, including airplanes. At the same time, the troops that existed as of May 9, 1945 of seven more fronts of the USSR Armed Forces did not take part in the parade: Transcaucasian Front, Far Eastern Front, Transbaikal Front, Western Front Air Defense, Central Air Defense Front, Southwestern Front Air defense and Transcaucasian air defense front.

The troops immediately began creating consolidated regiments. The fighters for the country's main parade were meticulously selected. First of all, they took those who showed heroism, courage and military skill in battles. Qualities such as height and age mattered. For example, in the order for the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front dated May 24, 1945, it was noted that height should be no lower than 176 cm, and age should not be older than 30 years.

At the end of May the regiments were formed. According to the order of May 24, the combined regiment was supposed to have 1059 people and 10 reserve people, but in the end the number was increased to 1465 people and 10 reserve people. The commanders of the combined regiments were determined to be:

From the Karelian Front - Major General G. E. Kalinovsky;
- from Leningradsky - Major General A. T. Stupchenko;
- from the 1st Baltic - Lieutenant General A.I. Lopatin;
- from the 3rd Belorussian - Lieutenant General P.K. Koshevoy;
- from the 2nd Belorussian - Lieutenant General K. M. Erastov;
- from the 1st Belorussian - Lieutenant General I.P. Rosly;
- from the 1st Ukrainian - Major General G.V. Baklanov;
- from the 4th Ukrainian - Lieutenant General A. L. Bondarev;
- from the 2nd Ukrainian - Guard Lieutenant General I.M. Afonin;
- from the 3rd Ukrainian - Guard Lieutenant General N.I. Biryukov;
- from Navy- Vice Admiral V. G. Fadeev.

The Victory Parade was hosted by Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. The parade was commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky. The entire organization of the parade was led by the commander of the Moscow Military District and the head of the Moscow garrison, Colonel General Pavel Artemyevich Artemyev.

Marshal G.K. Zhukov accepts the Victory Parade in Moscow

During the organization of the parade, a number of problems had to be solved in a very short time. So, if students of military academies, cadets of military schools in the capital and soldiers of the Moscow garrison had ceremonial uniforms, then thousands of front-line soldiers needed to sew them. This problem was solved by garment factories in Moscow and the Moscow region. And the responsible task of preparing ten standards, under which the combined regiments were to march, was entrusted to a unit of military builders. However, their project was rejected. In an emergency, we turned to specialists from the Bolshoi Theater art and production workshops for help. The head of the art and props workshop V. Terzibashyan and the head of the metalworking and mechanical workshop N. Chistyakov coped with the assigned task. A horizontal metal pin with “golden” spiers at the ends was attached to a vertical oak shaft with a silver wreath, which framed a gold five-pointed star. On it hung a double-sided scarlet velvet panel of the standard, bordered with gold patterned hand lettering and with the name of the front. Individual heavy golden tassels fell along the sides. This sketch was accepted. Hundreds of order ribbons, which crowned the staffs of 360 military banners, which were carried at the head of the combined regiments, were also made in the workshops of the Bolshoi Theater. Each banner represented military unit or a formation that distinguished itself in battle, and each of the ribbons marked a collective feat, marked by a military order. Most of the banners were guards.

By June 10, special trains carrying parade participants began arriving in the capital. In total, 24 marshals, 249 generals, 2,536 officers, 31,116 privates and sergeants took part in the parade. Hundreds of military equipment were prepared for the parade. The training took place at the Central Airfield named after M.V. Frunze. Soldiers and officers trained for 6-7 hours every day. And all this for the sake of three and a half minutes of immaculate march across Red Square. The parade participants were the first in the army to be awarded the medal “For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945,” established on May 9, 1945.

At the direction of the General Staff, about 900 units of captured banners and standards were delivered to Moscow from Berlin and Dresden. Of these, 200 banners and standards were selected and placed under guard in a special room. On the day of the parade, they were taken in covered trucks to Red Square and handed over to the soldiers of the parade company of “porters.” Soviet soldiers carried enemy banners and standards with gloves, emphasizing that it was disgusting to even hold the poles of these symbols in your hands. At the parade, they will be thrown onto a special platform so that the standards do not touch the pavement of the sacred Red Square. Hitler's personal standard will be thrown first, the last - the banner of Vlasov's army. Later this platform and gloves will be burned.

The parade was planned to begin with the removal of the Victory Banner, which was delivered to the capital on June 20 from Berlin. However, the standard bearer Neustroyev and his assistants Egorov, Kantaria and Berest, who hoisted it over the Reichstag and sent to Moscow, went extremely poorly at the rehearsals. During the war there was no time for drill training. The same battalion commander of the 150th Idritso-Berlin rifle division Stepan Neustroev was wounded several times, his legs were damaged. As a result, they refused to carry out the Victory Banner. By order of Marshal Zhukov, the banner was transferred to the Central Museum of the Armed Forces. The Victory Banner was brought to the parade for the first time in 1965.

Victory Parade. Standard bearers

Victory Parade. Formation of sailors

Victory Parade. Formation of tank officers

Kuban Cossacks

On June 22, 1945, an order was published in the central newspapers of the Union Supreme Commander №370:

Order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief

“In commemoration of the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, I appoint a parade of troops of the active army, the Navy and the Moscow garrison on June 24, 1945 in Moscow on Red Square - the Victory Parade.

Bring the consolidated regiments of the fronts, the consolidated regiment of the People's Commissariat of Defense, the consolidated regiment of the Navy, military academies, military schools and troops of the Moscow garrison to the parade.

The Victory Parade will be hosted by my Deputy Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov.

Command the Victory Parade to Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky.

I entrust general leadership for organizing the parade to the commander of the Moscow Military District and the head of the garrison of the city of Moscow, Colonel General Artemyev.”

Supreme Commander
Marshal of the Soviet Union I. Stalin.

The morning of June 24 turned out to be rainy. Fifteen minutes before the parade started, it started to rain. The weather improved only in the evening. Because of this, the aviation part of the parade and the passage of Soviet workers were canceled. At exactly 10 o'clock, with the Kremlin chimes striking, Marshal Zhukov rode out onto Red Square on a white horse. At 10:50 a.m. the troop detour began. The Grand Marshal alternately greeted the soldiers of the combined regiments and congratulated the Parade participants on the victory over Germany. The troops responded with a mighty “Hurray!” Having toured the regiments, Georgy Konstantinovich rose to the podium. The Marshal congratulated the Soviet people and their valiant armed forces on their victory. Then the USSR anthem sounded, performed by 1,400 military musicians, 50 artillery salutes thundered, and three times the Russian “Hurray!” echoed over the square.

The ceremonial march of the victorious soldiers was opened by the commander of the parade, Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky. He was followed by a group of young drummers, students of the 2nd Moscow Military Music School. Behind them came the consolidated regiments of the fronts in the order in which they were located during the Great Patriotic War, from north to south. The first was the regiment of the Karelian Front, then the Leningrad, 1st Baltic, 3rd Belorussian, 2nd Belorussian, 1st Belorussian (it included a group of soldiers of the Polish Army), 1st Ukrainian, 4th Ukrainian, 2nd th Ukrainian and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. The combined regiment of the Navy brought up the rear of the solemn procession.

The movement of the troops was accompanied by a huge orchestra of 1,400 people. Each combined regiment marches through its own battle march almost without pause. Then the orchestra fell silent and 80 drums beat in silence. A group of soldiers appeared carrying 200 lowered banners and destroyed standards German troops. They threw banners onto the wooden platforms near the Mausoleum. The stands exploded with applause. It was an act full of sacred meaning, a kind of sacred rite. Symbols Hitler's Germany, and therefore “European Union-1”, were defeated. Soviet civilization has proven its superiority over the West.

After this the orchestra started playing again. Units of the Moscow garrison, a combined regiment of the People's Commissariat of Defense, students of military academies and cadets of military schools marched across Red Square. Pupils brought up the rear of the procession Suvorov schools, the future of the victorious Red Empire.

Heavy tanks IS-2 pass through Red Square during the parade in honor of the Victory on June 24, 1945

The parade lasted 2 hours in heavy rain. However, this did not bother people and did not spoil the holiday. The orchestras played and the celebration continued. Late in the evening the fireworks began. At 23:00, out of 100 balloons raised by anti-aircraft gunners, 20 thousand missiles flew in volleys. Thus ended this great day. On June 25, 1945, a reception was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace in honor of the participants of the Victory Parade.

It was a real triumph of the victorious people, of Soviet civilization. The Soviet Union survived and won the most terrible war in mankind. Our people and army defeated the most effective military machine in the Western world. They destroyed the terrible embryo of the “New World Order” - the “Eternal Reich”, in which they planned to destroy the entire Slavic world and enslave humanity. Unfortunately, this victory, like others, did not last forever. New generations of Russian people will again have to stand in the fight against world evil and defeat it.

As he quite rightly noted Russian President Vladimir Putin in his written address addressed to visitors of the exhibition “Victory Parade on June 24, 1945”, which opened at the State historical museum on the eve of the 55th anniversary of the Victory Parade: “We must not forget about this strong parade. Historical memory- the key to a worthy future for Russia. We must adopt the main thing from the heroic generation of front-line soldiers - the habit of winning. This habit is very necessary in our peaceful life today. It will help the current generation build a strong, stable and prosperous Russia. I am confident that the spirit of the Great Victory will continue to preserve our Motherland in the new, 21st century.”

On May 8, 1945, even before signing the act of surrender, J.V. Stalin signed a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR declaring May 9 Victory Day.
On May 8, 1945 at 22:43 Central European time (May 9 at 00:43 Moscow time) in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of Military Surrender of the German Armed Forces was signed. On behalf of the German Supreme High Command, the act was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the Wehrmacht, Field Marshal General W. Keitel, Commander-in-Chief naval forces Admiral of the Fleet von Friedeburg, Colonel General of Aviation G. Yu. Stumpf. The Soviet Union was represented by the Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, the allies - chief marshal British Aviation A. Tedder. Present as witnesses were the commander of strategic air force US General K. Spaats and Commander-in-Chief French army General J. M. Delattre de Tassigny.
“On the night of May 9, 1945, Muscovites did not sleep. At 2 a.m. the radio announced that an important message would be broadcast. At 2:10 a.m. Dr. Yuri Levitan read the Act of Military Surrender of Nazi Germany and the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR declaring May 9 a Day of National Celebration - Victory Day. People ran out of their houses... joyfully congratulating each other on the long-awaited victory. Banners appeared. There were more and more people, and everyone moved to Red Square. A spontaneous demonstration began. Joyful faces, songs, dancing to the accordion. In the evening there was a fireworks display: thirty salvos from a thousand guns in honor great Victory"(war correspondent Alexander Ustinov). On that day, the Pravda newspaper wrote: “The ninth of May! Will never forget this day soviet man. How he will not forget June 22, 1941. Between these dates, a century has passed. And as happens in folk epics, during this time the Soviet man grew fabulously. He grew up so that a Red Army soldier standing by a waving banner in Berlin is visible to the whole world. We didn't wait for June twenty-second. But we longed for the day to come when the final blow would knock down the black monster that had insulted life. And we dealt this blow... My soul is incredibly joyful today. And the night sky over Moscow seems to radiate a reflection of the joy that is full Soviet land. We witnessed events about which volumes could be written. But today we fit them all into one word: victory!..”
On June 24, 1945, the first Victory Parade took place on Red Square in Moscow. The parade was hosted by Marshal G.K. Zhukov, the parade was commanded by Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky. Regiments of the Belarusian, Leningrad, Karelian, and Ukrainian fronts, as well as a combined regiment of the Navy, marched along Red Square. The columns were headed by the commanders of these regiments. Heroes of the Soviet Union carried flags and banners of units that distinguished themselves in the war. At the end of the parade, 200 soldiers carried fascist banners bowed to the ground and threw them onto a special platform at the foot of the Lenin Mausoleum.
From 1948 to 1964, May 9 was a regular working day. In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree declaring May 9 a non-working holiday; On Red Square in Moscow, for the first time since the end of the war, a parade of troops and military equipment of the Moscow garrison was held
Until 1995, parades on Red Square on Victory Day were held only in anniversary years - in 1965, 1985 and 1990. Then they began to be held annually; Since 2008, military equipment has again begun to participate in parades.

Muscovites on Red Square on Victory Day