Russia will celebrate Victory Day on Monday even as the Russia-Ukraine war enters its third month. Speculation is rife about what President Putin would say in his address. Putin’s address to the nation on Victory Day is expected to be the most watched event in the country.

The Victory Day Parade is one of the most significant events in Russia. Held on May 9, it marks the end of World War II in Europe with the defeat and surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945.

Moscow and many parts of Russia and Russian captured territories, including Mariupol, are going to witness celebrations of ‘Victory Day’ or what is locally called the ‘Patriotic War’. The streets in all these parts have been decorated with Russian and the Soviet Victory flags (The Red Banner), reasserting the idea of the Soviet Union and how everybody fought Nazism as one entity.

Russian service members march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day Parade (Reuters image)

The annual Victory Day parade will take place in Moscow’s Red Square on the morning of May 9. Authorities have restricted movement on numerous roads and local traffic will be intermittently suspended until the end of the day or till the next day.

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President Vladimir Putin is expected to use the occasion as a means to promote patriotic unity and showcase the country’s military might. Among the pro-war additions this year, a group of fighter jets is expected to fly over central Moscow in the shape of a “Z”, a popular symbol of support for Russian troops in Ukraine.

While the number of planes expected to take part in the Moscow flypast is slightly higher than last year, media reports suggest that the numbers of infantry and equipment are lower. According to information published on Friday by Russia’s defense ministry, there will be only 129 military vehicles and 10,000 personnel this year, as compared to 191 military vehicles and about 12,000 military personnel in 2021.

In total, 11,000 people, 131 units of industrial and special equipment and 77 aircraft and helicopters will take part in the parade.

THE IMMORTAL REGIMENT MARCH

After the Victory Day Parade in Red Square, the Bessmertniy Polk or the ‘The Immortal Regiment’ march takes place across major cities in Russia. It is a massive civil event where people walk in a procession holding banners, placards, etc, to remember those who laid down their lives in WWII.

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