Victory Day 64th anniversary
The Victory Day is the date of the final surrender of Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. in 1945, marking the end of World War II. It is a day of memory and sorrow because millions of people died during this terrible war (only in the U.S.S.R. approximately 27 million people of different nationalities perished). This war became a harsh trial for our country and a great test of our national spirit, our unity, and our armed forces.
Almost every family in the U.S.S.R. lost relatives during the Great Patriotic War (as WWII is called here). We know about this war from hearing real stories passed down from our parents and grandparents. This terrible war and the people who died defending our motherland will never be forgotten.
It is known all over the world that one of the major events for the celebration of Victory Day in Russia (one of the main republics of the former U.S.S.R.) is the Victory Parade in the Red Square. Although the history of the military parade is quite interesting, it is a bit too long to fit into this news article. I would, however, like to mention several important facts that in my opinion are interesting and important to know. The national holiday of Victory Day was established right after the final surrender of Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. on May 8th, 1945. It was evening in Berlin, but in Moscow it was already the early morning of May 9th and this day became the Day of the Great Victory. The first military parade in the Red Square occurred with the destruction of symbols and flags of Nazi Germany near Lenin's Mausoleum on the rainy day of June 24, 1945, when all the divisions of the Soviet army were able to return back from Germany.
The full story describing how I spent Victory Day 2009 with my repeat clients from Belgium can be read on the page with my HOT News.
Here is a quite interesting photo of a typical OMON soldier standing in a security cordon at Novy Arbat Street to protect the military motorcade returning from the Victory Parade in the Red Square. I like the look of concentration on his face while he is holding a radio transmitter in one hand.
OMON (the first letters from the Police Squad of Special Purpose in Russia) is the generic name for the system of special, very well trained units of militia (police) that originated in 1979, before the summer Olympic Games of 1980 that were held in the U.S.S.R. (Moscow). Founded to ensure security and to avoid any opportunity for terrorist attacks as at the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics, this unit was utilized later in emergencies such as high-risk arrests, hostage crises, response to acts of terrorism, or special guard during any state events, rock concerts and football games. The units of OMON were often manned by former soldiers of the Soviet army and veterans of the Soviet army in Afghanistan. Nowadays the OMON are special units with Russian MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs), and are mostly former soldiers of the Russian army, many of whom served in Chechnya. In Wikipedia I learned their motto which goes quite well with this photo: "We know no mercy and do not ask for any."
In the background of the photo behind the soldier you can see Russia's advanced S-400 Triumph Air Defense System that was displayed for the first time in the Victory parade this year. In this picture the huge military vehicle just started to turn right from New Arbat to Garden Ring (the ring around downtown, the old city).
The S-400 Triumph is an upgrade of the S-300 family (shown at the previous parade on May 9th, 2008) and a new generation of anti-aircraft/anti-missile weapons system complex designed for combat with modern air attack components at a range of up to 400 kilometers (or 240 miles). This anti-aircraft system is able to counter any aircraft made with the use of the Stealth technology (for example, the AVAX type), small cruise and tactical missiles, as well as warheads flying at a speed of up to 4.8 km/s. (or 2.9 miles per second).
With BEST Regards,
Arthur Lookyanov HOT News from Moscow
Last Edited: May 11th, 2009
OMON, OMON solidier, S-400, air dense system, triumph, military morcade, Victory Day, Victory Parade
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