Russia Commemorates VICTORY DAY.

Moscow; May 2026: Victory Day was commemorated In the capital city Moscow with a Parade beginning with a march of the banner group of the Preobrazhensky Regiment Honour Guard’s unit carrying the Russian national flag and the legendary Victory Banner across Red Square. A military parade to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War took place on Moscow’s Red Square.

The parade began with a march of the banner group of the Preobrazhensky Regiment Honor Guard’s unit carrying the Russian national flag and the legendary Victory Banner across Red Square. The Victory Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag by soldiers of the 150th Idritskaya Rifle Division overnight to May 1, 1945.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, war veterans, guests and foreign leaders watched the parade from the central reviewing stand on Red Square. Defense Minister Andrey Belousov reviewed the parade, which was commanded by Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Hero of Russia Colonel General Andrey Mordvichev.

The Victory Day celebrations in Moscow were attended by leaders of foreign states, among them Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, Malaysia Supreme Leader Sultan Ibrahim, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

For the first time, a military contingent from North Korea took part in the military parade on Moscow’s Red Square. The foot column comprised service members of higher military educational institutions of all military branches and separate armed services of the Russian Armed Forces.

About 1,000 Russian combatants of the special military operation, among them 17 Heroes of Russia, also marched ceremoniously across the cobblestones of Red Square during the Victory Day parade. Unmanned systems force also took part in the military parade.

Last year, Russia’s Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square devoted to the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War involved over 11,000 troops, including 1,500 combatants of the special military operation and 183 WWII and advanced weapons systems. Military contingents from 13 countries also marched across Moscow’s Red Square during the jubilee year.

The military parade concluded with a fly-past of combat aircraft over Moscow’s Red Square. The aerobatic groups Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) flying Su-30SM fighter jets and Strizhi (Swifts) on MiG-29 jets performed the Kubinka Diamond stunt over the centre of Moscow. They were followed by six Su-25 attack aircraft that released fumes in the colors of the Russian national flag.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, while delivering remarks at a ceremonial reception marking Victory Day, has reiterated, “Ancestors of all peoples of the world, without exception, bequeathed to future generations the duty to preserve and defend peace. The emerging world order, he noted, must “take into account the cultural and civilisational diversity of the peoples of the planet, their right to determine their own destiny and to follow the traditions and precepts of their ancestors. And they bequeathed to all of us the duty to preserve and defend peace”, Putin concluded.

Russia celebrates Victory Day pursuant to the Federal Law “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia” signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on March 13, 1995.

Russia celebrates May 09th annually as Victory Day, at 12:43 hours (local time) which is 15:13 hours (IST). It was on 09th May 1945, the Instrument of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany was signed, which ended the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War.

Memorable date –

Russia celebrates Victory Day pursuant to the Federal Law “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia” signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on March 13, 1995. Initially, the date was set by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet of May 8, 1945. In 1945-1947, it was a day-off and then declared a working day (by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet of December 23, 1947) and in 1965 it again became a day-off (pursuant to a decree by the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet of April 25, 1965).

The procedure of celebrating Victory Day is set forth in the Federal Law of May 19, 1995, “On Immortalising the Victory of the Soviet People in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War”. Pursuant to this law, military parades involving armaments and military hardware and artillery fireworks are held on May 9 in Moscow, hero cities and cities accommodating headquarters of military districts, fleets, combined arms armies and the Caspian flotilla. In addition, festive processions, gatherings, assemblies and reception ceremonies are held across Russia on May 09th to honour veterans of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.

In contemporary Russia, military parades have been held on Moscow’s Red Square since 1995 accompanied by the passage of heavy military hardware since 2008. In 2020, all festive events in Moscow were put off or transformed into the online format due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, except for the fly-past and fireworks. The military parade on Moscow’s Red Square took place on June 24 that year (2020).

In 2023-2024, May 09th Victory Day parades were cancelled in some Russian regions for security reasons.

War casualties –

The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people during the Great Patriotic War (40% of all human losses in World War II), with civilian deaths accounting for the larger part of these losses. According to data of the Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of Atrocities of the German Fascist Invaders, the German troops destroyed fully or partially over 1,700 cities and towns, more than 70,000 villages and settlements in the USSR. Direct damage to the state and the population amounted to 679 billion rubles in 1941 prices.

Heroes of the Soviet Union –

A total of 11,657 people were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for heroic deeds during the Great Patriotic War (3,051 of them posthumously), including 95 women and 44 foreign nationals. Of this number: –

• 159 people were bestowed with this title twice, including

• 154 individuals who received this award twice,

• 03 people who were awarded it thrice (fighter pilots Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin and military commander Semyon Budyonny) and

• 02 people who were awarded it four times (military commander Georgy Zhukov and CPSU Central Committee Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev). Diving specialist, Captain 3rd Rank Leonid Solodkov became the last Hero of the Soviet Union on December 24, 1991.

As of May 8, 2024, Soviet lawyer and statesman Boris Kravtsov (Moscow) is the last of the living Heroes of the Soviet Union who was awarded this title during the Great Patriotic War. In 2008, Soviet artillerist Pavel Syutkin living in Sochi in the Krasnodar Region became the last Hero of Russia who received this title in his lifetime for heroic deeds during the Great Patriotic War.

In 2024, war veteran Ibrahim-Pasha Sadykov (1924-2026) became the last Hero of Russia who received this title in his lifetime for heroic deeds in the Great Patriotic War.

War veterans –

According to data from the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labour, Social Policy and Veterans’ Affairs, Yaroslav Nilov, 10,773 participants and disabled veterans of the Great Patriotic War and 296,810 war veterans lived in Russia as of early 2025. Pursuant to effective legislation, the war veteran status also extends to home front workers, widows of war participants, former concentration camp prisoners, residents of besieged Leningrad (currently St. Petersburg) and Sevastopol, and also residents of besieged Stalingrad (currently Volgograd) who received this status in April 2023.

On January 30, 2026, the Head of the Central Executive Committee of United Russia, coordinator of the party project Historical Memory, and State Duma Deputy Alexander Sidyakin said that about 6,000 participants of the Great Patriotic War were still alive in Russia.

Team Maverick.