The military parade on Red Square in Moscow continues. Commemorations are planned in schools. Celebrations of the Soviet victory against Nazi Germany are a central part of the patriotic narrative of Russian power.
The dress rehearsal for the 79th Victory Day parade took place on Sunday morning on Moscow’s Red Square. The main streets of the city were closed to traffic for the occasion.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, more than 9,000 people and 70 units of military equipment will take part in the event. In addition to the usual regiments and companies by branch and service arms, soldiers who took part in the fighting in Ukraine are also expected to parade. The processions of “Immortal Regiment” during which thousands of Russians parade across the country holding portraits of their loved ones who participated in the Second World War, were nevertheless canceled this year.
The annual military parade is scheduled to take place in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9 to mark the 79th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.
In recent months, dozens of Ukrainian drone attacks have hit Russia. Assassinations and assassination attempts have also targeted several pro-Kremlin figures and Russian security services regularly claim to have foiled attacks or sabotage.
Furthermore, a terrorist attack took place on March 22 in a concert hall near Moscow, leaving 144 dead and hundreds injured. Russian authorities admitted that the attack was committed by Islamists, but they did not mention the claim of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), insisting on a link with Ukraine, without providing tangible evidence.