After long and bloody battles, on May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time, the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Germany was signed. The Soviet Union won this war. Having accepted the surrender of Germany, the USSR did not sign a peace agreement with it and remained in a state of war for some time. Documentedly, the war with Germany ended only on January 21, 1955, after the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR made such a decision. And yet we perceive the Great Patriotic War as a war that lasted until May 9, 1945.
About 2.5 million soldiers were involved in the war with Germany. The losses suffered by the Soviet Union were simply enormous; according to some sources, our army lost up to fifteen thousand people per day. About 325 thousand soldiers and officers died in this war.
The use of tanks in urban areas did not give them room for wide maneuvers, which was very convenient for German anti-tank weapons; in just a few weeks, 1,997 tanks, 2,108 guns and 917 aircraft were lost in the Berlin operation.
But the losses did not affect the course of events; Soviet troops still defeated the enemies, capturing approximately 480 thousand people and destroying 70 enemy infantry, 11 motorized and 12 tank divisions.
On May 9, 1945, a plane landed on Red Square, which delivered the Act of Surrender of Germany. And already on June 24, the first Victory Parade took place, which was hosted by Marshal Zhukov and commanded by Konstantin Rokossovsky. Regiments of the Belarusian, Leningrad, Karelian, and Ukrainian fronts, as well as a combined regiment of the Navy, marched along Red Square. Ahead of everyone were the commanders of these regiments, Heroes of the Soviet Union, who carried the flags and banners of the units that distinguished themselves in the war. At the end of the parade, 200 banners of defeated Germany were carried and dropped at the Lenin Mausoleum.
The first Victory Day was celebrated in a way that, probably, very few holidays were celebrated in the history of the USSR and Russia. People on the streets congratulated each other, hugged, kissed and cried. On May 9, in the evening, the Victory Salute was given in Moscow, the largest in the history of the USSR: thirty salvos were fired from a thousand guns.
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 o'clock in the morning Moscow time, this Decree was read out on the radio by announcer Levitan.
However, May 9th was a public holiday for only three years. In 1948, it was ordered to forget about the war and devote all efforts to restoring the national economy destroyed by the war. And only in 1965, already during the Brezhnev era, the holiday was again given its due. May 9 became a day off again, Parades, large-scale fireworks in all cities - Heroes and honoring of veterans - resumed.
Abroad, Victory Day is celebrated on May 9 and 8. This is due to the fact that the act of surrender was signed according to Central European time on May 8, 1945 at 22:43. When in Moscow, with its two-hour time difference, May 9 had already arrived. War-torn Europe also celebrated Victory Day sincerely and publicly. On May 9, 1945, in almost all European cities, people congratulated each other and the winning soldiers.
In London, the center of celebrations was Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. People were congratulated by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Winston Churchill gave a speech from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. In the USA, there are two Victory Days: V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day) and V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day). Americans celebrated both of these Victory Days in 1945 on a grand scale, honoring their veterans and remembering President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who did so much for the Victory and did not live to see it less than a month (he died on April 12, 1945).
On this holiday, you should definitely congratulate all the veterans you know, because it was thanks to them that many of us were born. It is not known what would have happened to our country if we had not won. Victory Day means spring, which means a sea of flowers. You should definitely give your grandparents, who fought for calm and peace in our country, a bouquet of flowers. You can add anything else to the flowers that you deem necessary - be it books, dishes or a souvenir, the most important thing is that you will pay attention to your relatives who once fought for the honor of the country.
(c) according to information from oasisfestival.ru and other sites.
MOSCOW, May 9 – RIA Novosti. Festive artillery salutes will thunder on May 9 in 26 cities of Russia in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The 449th separate fireworks division of the Western Military District, which received the honorary name “Guards” on the eve of Victory Day, will fire in Moscow.
In the capital, fireworks will be launched at 22:00 from 16 points. The fireworks division's installations will fire about 30 salvos or 10 thousand fireworks in 10 minutes of operation. At the same time, earlier the commander of the fireworks division, Vyacheslav Paradnikov, promised Muscovites a modernized fireworks display. According to him, the filling of many shots has changed, which will provide an even greater variety of fireworks colors.
Each fireworks installation consists of six modules of various calibers - from 105 to 310 millimeters. The different calibers of fireworks shots and the different angles at which they are launched make it possible to create special effects in the sky, which are ensured by different heights of explosions. Special software equipped with fireworks installations made it possible to simulate a unique fireworks scenario.
The sky in the center of the capital will be colored by the battery on the Kremlin embankment. Close to the historical part of the city there will also be a fireworks point on Luzhnetskaya Embankment and two batteries in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill, from which the legendary 76-mm ZIS-3 cannons of the 1942 model will fire a celebratory salvo.
In the west and southwest of Moscow, fireworks sites will be located on the shore of a pond in Novo-Peredelkino, on Miklouho-Maclay Street next to the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. In the south and southeast, volleys will thunder in South Butovo, on the shore of Chernevsky Pond, in Kuzminki and Nagatinskaya Poima parks. In the east of Moscow, the battery will be located in Izmailovsky Park, and in the north - at VDNH, in the Chermyanka and Druzhba parks. Three batteries will be located in the north-west: at the Tushinsky airfield, in Zelenograd and Mitino.
In New Moscow, fireworks will thunder from the site of the Trinity Separate Division of the P.N. Physics Institute. Lebedev RAS.
Festive fireworks will be displayed on May 9 in Russian citiesIn Moscow, the personnel of the 449th separate salute division of the Western Military District, which received the honorary name “Guards” on the eve of Victory Day, will salute.West and central Russia
Festive fireworks in St. Petersburg will be given at 22:00 from the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
In Kaliningrad, servicemen of the Baltic Fleet will give an artillery salute from ZIS-3 cannons, released in 1943. According to the Western Military District, at one time they were used during the assault on Koenigsberg, some of them show dents from the deadly fragments of war. Now these guns, which are still in service, provide sound accompaniment to fireworks, thanks to their characteristic abrupt sound made when fired. The festive fireworks in Kaliningrad will be made from 4 fireworks installations and 4 ZIS-3 cannons in Victory Park behind the memorial to 1200 guardsmen.
In addition, artillerymen of the Airborne Forces units will arrange fireworks in Tula and Pskov.
South of the country
Artillerymen of the Southern Military District will arrange a fireworks display in honor of Victory Day in Vladikavkaz, Novorossiysk, Anapa and Tuapse. The salute will be fired from 12 units of 76-mm ZIS-3 guns and two salute installations based on KamAZ. Fireworks will be carried out in volleys at a pace of 15 seconds; fireworks charges will explode at an altitude of 250-300 meters.
Residents of Vladikavkaz will be able to see nine types of festive fireworks ("Assol", "Assol-chameleon", "Sunflower", "Volna-3", "Vega" of various modifications), presented in seven colors (silver, green-red, red white, green-white, blue, light blue, yellow).
In Astrakhan, salvos on May 9 will be fired from the ships of the Caspian Flotilla and the site on Gorodskoy Island from six legendary cannons from the Great Patriotic War.
Also, a festive artillery salute and fireworks at 22:00 will illuminate Sevastopol Bay.
Ekaterinburg, Samara and Novosibirsk
70 volleys of festive fireworks will thunder in the skies of Yekaterinburg, Samara and Novosibirsk thanks to the artillerymen of the Central Military District. Multicolor fireworks will be used, which, depending on the caliber and charge, have their own names: “Vega”, “Violet” and “Assol”. They will provide spectacular sheaves of sparks, flickering, pulsations and other lighting effects.
Artillery batteries will fire salvos at 10 a.m. local time, accompanying the performance of the Russian anthem at parades, and then at 10 p.m. (in Yekaterinburg - 10:30 p.m.). The salute will be fired from 76-mm ZIS-3 guns and fireworks installations based on KamAZ.
In Novosibirsk, fireworks will take place from 21:50 to 22:00 on the city beach of the Ob River.
Far East
More than 1.2 thousand festive shots will be fired by artillerymen of the Eastern Military District from 42 artillery guns and 21 fireworks launchers. At 22:00 local time, 30 salvos will be fired in Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Belogorsk, Chita and Ulan-Ude in honor of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
The largest fireworks display will take place on May 9 at the Lenin Stadium in Khabarovsk. It will involve the largest number of guns - eighteen 122-mm M-30 howitzers and 6 fireworks launchers.
"Precision, safety and beauty"
The tradition of saluting the heroes of the Great Patriotic War was born on August 5, 1943 in honor of the troops who liberated Oryol and Belgorod. During the Great Patriotic War, more than 350 fireworks lit up the sky. The most significant fireworks display took place on May 9, 1945 - 30 salvos from 1,000 guns, after which the tradition of holiday fireworks was interrupted for 20 years. The first post-war fireworks display took place in 1965, and in 1967 a platoon of fireworks installations was formed in the Taman division. Now it is called the 449th separate salute battalion and operates under the motto “Accuracy, safety and beauty.” The 76 mm ZIS-3 guns of this division, which provide sound accompaniment for fireworks, have real battle wounds - in the distant 1940s they destroyed fascist tanks.
9 May 2017, 09:35Victory Day- a celebration of the victory of the people of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Celebrated on May 9.
Abroad, Victory Day is celebrated not on May 9, but on May 8.
War-torn Europe celebrated Victory Day sincerely and publicly. On May 9, 1945, in almost all European cities, people congratulated each other and the winning soldiers.
In London, the center of celebrations was Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. People were congratulated by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Winston Churchill gave a speech from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
In the USA, there are two whole Victory Days: V-E Day(Victory in Europe Day) and V-J Day(Victory Day over Japan). Americans celebrated both of these Victory Days in 1945 on a grand scale, honoring their veterans and remembering President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Victory Day coincided with the birthday of President Harry Truman. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin Roosevelt, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage a month before Germany's surrender.
Now the veterans are celebrating this way - they go to lay wreaths and salute the fallen in the city of Washington at the memorial to the heroes of World War II. And the real Victory Day in the USA is September 2, 1945.
On this day, September 2, 1945, at 9:02 am Tokyo time, the Act of Surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed on board the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On the Japanese side, the document was signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Chief of the General Staff Yoshijiro Umezu. Representatives of the Allied Powers were Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur, American Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the British Pacific Fleet Bruce Fraser, Soviet General Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko, Kuomintang General Su Yong-chang, French General J. Leclerc, Australian General T. Blamey, Dutch Admiral K. Halfrich, New Zealand Air Vice-Marshal L. Isit and Canadian Colonel N. Moore-Cosgrave.
Apart from the USSR, May 9 was officially recognized as Victory Day only in Great Britain. This country waged war against fascism from 1939 and until 1941 fought Hitler almost alone.
The British clearly did not have enough strength to defeat Germany, but when faced with the terrible machine of the Wehrmacht, it was they who were able to appreciate the feat of the Soviet people who crushed it.
After the end of the war, many of our veterans remained in Great Britain, so now England has the largest diaspora of USSR veterans in Western Europe. It is worth noting that although Victory Day is celebrated in Britain, it is not done so magnificently and loudly. There are no crowds of celebrating people, large processions or parades on the streets.
On May 9, in London, in the park near the Imperial War Museum, the traditional laying of wreaths at the monument to Soviet soldiers and citizens who died in the war takes place, as well as a meeting of veterans of the Northern convoys on board the cruiser Belfast.
Northern convoys and the maritime brotherhood that united British and Soviet sailors further united the veterans. The celebrations do not differ in pomp, but they are held very dignified, with the participation of members of the royal family and senior government officials. Living survivors of air battles with the Luftwaffe, icy, but no less hot voyages across the northern seas, and those who happened to swallow the hot sand of the African desert listen to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra after meeting on the cruiser Belfast. There are fewer and fewer veterans, and if previously music was played only for them, now there are more free seats, and everyone who wants to is invited to enjoy it.
The history of the Victory Day holiday dates back to May 9, 1945, when, in the suburbs of Berlin, the Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command, Field Marshal General W. Keitel from the Wehrmacht, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the USSR Georgy Zhukov from the Red Army and Air Marshal of Great Britain A. Tedder from the Allies, signed an act of unconditional and complete surrender of the Wehrmacht.
Berlin was taken on May 2, but German troops resisted the Red Army for more than a week before the fascist command, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, finally decided to surrender.
On May 7 at 2:41 am in Reims, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. On behalf of the German High Command, the Instrument of Surrender was signed by General Jodl in the presence of General Walter Smith (on behalf of the Allied Expeditionary Forces), General Ivan Susloparov (on behalf of the Soviet High Command) and General of the French Army Francois Sevez as a witness.
General Susloparov signed the act in Reims at his own peril and risk, since he did not manage to contact the Kremlin in time and receive instructions. Stalin was outraged by the signing of the surrender at Reims, in which the Western allies played the leading role.
Representatives of the allied command (from left to right): Major General I.A. Susloparov, Lieutenant General Walter Smith, Army General Dwight Eisenhower and Air Marshal Arthur Tedder. Reims, May 7, 1945.
The document signed in Rains came into force at 23:00 on May 8th. Many believe that due to the time difference between the USSR and Europe, it turned out that we celebrate this holiday on different days. However, not all so simple.
The act of surrender was re-signed.
Stalin ordered Marshal Zhukov to accept general surrender in the capital of the defeated state, Berlin, from representatives of the branches of the German armed forces.
On May 8 at 22:43 Central European time (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time) in the suburbs of Berlin, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as Luftwaffe representative Colonel General Stumpf and Kriegsmarine Admiral von Friedeburg signed the act of complete surrender of Germany again .
“I can’t help but brag,” photographer Petrusov later wrote. “It took me a lot of effort to tear myself away from the close-up shots of Marshal Zhukov, Keitel and others, to give up my hard-won place at the table itself, to step aside, climb onto the table and take this picture, which gives the overall picture of the signing. I am rewarded - there is no such second shot.”
However, all these details, while of interest to researchers, in no way affect our attitude towards the very fact of the Great Victory.
Berlin, May 1945
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)
And before all these events, Stalin signed a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that from now on May 9 becomes a national holiday - Victory Day and is declared a day off. At 6 o'clock in the morning Moscow time, this Decree was read out on the radio by announcer Levitan. The first Victory Day was celebrated with people on the streets congratulating each other, hugging, kissing and crying.
On May 9, in the evening, the Victory Salute was given in Moscow, the largest in the history of the USSR: thirty salvos were fired from a thousand guns.
But May 9th was a day off for only three years. In 1948, it was ordered to forget about the war and devote all efforts to restoring the national economy destroyed by the war.
Only in 1965, already in the relatively prosperous era of Brezhnev, in the 20th anniversary of Victory, the holiday was again given its due. May 9 became a day off again, Parades, large-scale fireworks in all cities - Heroes and honoring of veterans - resumed.
Victory Banner
The banner, taken down from the Reichstag, where Yegorov and Kantaria planted it, 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. And in fact, this is correct, since in those days this Banner was not the only one that Soviet soldiers hoisted on the day of the capture of Berlin.
In 2007, a controversy flared up again around the Victory Banner: after all, on it you can see a sickle and a hammer - symbols of a state that no longer exists. And again common sense prevailed, and the banner once again fluttered proudly over the ranks of soldiers and cadets striding across Red Square.
In addition to festive victory parades in the cities of the country, Victory Day has other attributes and traditions:
Laying wreaths and flowers at memorial cemeteries and monuments to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Traditionally, flowers are laid on the worship mountain and at the monument to the unknown soldier; in St. Petersburg, the main laying ceremony takes place at the Piskarevskoye cemetery and at the memorial plaque on Nevsky Prospekt, in Volgograd on the Mamayev Kurgan. And throughout the country there are thousands of thousands of monuments, memorial plaques and memorial places where everyone, young and old, brings flowers on Victory Day on May 9th.
A minute of silence. Solemn funeral ceremonies of laying flowers are traditionally accompanied by a minute of silence in memory of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War. A minute of silence is a sign of respect to all the people who gave their lives so that today we would have a peaceful sky above our heads.
Victory salute. Victory Day ends with festive fireworks. The first fireworks in Moscow were given in 1943 in honor of the successful offensive of the Red Army, after which a tradition arose of arranging fireworks after successful actions against Nazi troops. And, of course, one of the most grandiose fireworks was the fireworks on May 9, 1945, on the day the complete surrender of the fascist troops was announced. The fireworks began at 10 p.m. Moscow time; since then, every year at 10 p.m., Victory fireworks begin in many cities, reminding us that the country survived, overthrew the invaders, and is rejoicing! 
St. George Ribbon.
There are fewer and fewer living witnesses of that war, and increasingly the political forces of some foreign countries are trying to denigrate the heroic soldiers of our victorious army. And in order to pay tribute to the memory and respect of the exploits of our heroes, so that the younger generation knows, remembers and is proud of their history, a new tradition was established in 2005 - tying a St. George ribbon on Victory Day. The action is called “I remember! I'm proud!"
St. George's Ribbon - bicolor (two-color) orange and black. 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 a soldier.
The block of the very honorable “soldier’s” Order of Glory is covered with it. The black color of the ribbon means smoke, and the orange color means flame. In our time, an interesting tradition has emerged associated with this ancient symbol. Young people, on the eve of the Victory Day holiday, wear a ribbon as a sign of respect, memory and solidarity with the heroic Russian soldiers who defended the freedom of our country in the distant 40s.
A fine can easily be issued for disrespectful attitude towards the symbol.
Volunteers are distributing new rules for wearing the Victory symbol among the country's population. From the very beginning of the St. George's Ribbon campaign, on April 24, volunteers have been warning about the strict rules associated with wearing the symbol.
“It is strictly forbidden to attach the ribbon to a bag or car, wear it below the belt, on the head, tie it on the arm, or treat it disrespectfully,” according to the website of the “Volunteers of Victory” project. In case of neglect, a citizen may face a fine».
The St. George ribbon can only be worn on the lapel of a jacket, near the heart. This is reported to everyone who decides to take part in the “St. George’s Ribbon” campaign.
“It is a symbol of respect and memory. Therefore, we believe that the place for him is on the left side of the chest. This is how we show our recognition to the departed heroes,” the volunteers add.
Metronome sounds. In St. Petersburg there is a special attribute of Victory Day - the sound of a metronome from all radio broadcast points. During the difficult 900 days of the siege of Leningrad, the sounds of the metronome did not subside for a minute, announcing that the city was living, the city was breathing. These sounds gave vitality to Leningraders exhausted by the siege; without exaggeration, we can say that the sounds of the metronome saved thousands of lives.
Marches of the "Immortal Regiment"
In an endless stream through the squares and streets of cities on Victory Day, soldiers who died during the war march together with living participants in the processions. "Immortal Regiment" consists of photographs of these people. Descendants found a way to once again remember dear relatives and friends, pay tribute to their memory, and bow deeply for their feat.
Holiday Parade. The Victory Parade in Russia is traditionally held on Red Square in Moscow. In addition to Moscow, on May 9 Parades are held in other cities - heroes of the former USSR.
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.
The decision to hold the Victory Parade on Red Square was made by Stalin in mid-May 1945, almost immediately after the defeat of the last group of Nazi troops resisting on May 13th.
June 22, 1945 The newspaper “Pravda” published the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin for No. 370: “In commemoration of the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, I appoint on June 24, 1945 in Moscow on Red Square a parade of troops of the Active Army, the Navy and the Moscow garrison - the Victory Parade. Bring to the Parade: consolidated regiments of the fronts, consolidated regiment of the People's Commissariat of Defense, consolidated regiment of the Navy, military academies, military schools and troops of the Moscow garrison. 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."
The first Victory Parade was prepared very carefully. According to the recollections of veterans, rehearsals took place for a month and a half. Soldiers and officers, who had been accustomed for four years to crawling on their bellies and moving in short dashes, had to be taught to take a step 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, at times turning into downpour, which was recorded by newsreel footage. About forty thousand people took part in the Parade. Zhukov and Rokossovsky rode to Red Square on white and black horses, respectively.
Joseph Vissarionovich himself only watched the Parade from the rostrum of the Lenin Mausoleum. Stalin stood on the platform of the mausoleum on the left, losing the middle to the front-line generals - the winners.
Also present at the podium were Kalinin, Molotov, Budyonny, Voroshilov and other members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Zhukov “received” the Parade from Rokossovsky, rode along with him along the soldiers lined up in ranks and greeted them with three “hurrays,” then climbed to the podium of the Mausoleum and read out a welcoming speech dedicated to the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany. Combined regiments of the fronts: Karelian, Leningrad, 1st Baltic, 3rd, 2nd and 1st Belorussian, 1st, 4th, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian, consolidated regiment solemnly marched across Red Square Navy. As part of the regiment of the 1st Belorussian Front, representatives of the Polish Army marched in a special column. In front of the marching columns of the fronts were the commanders of the fronts and armies with swords drawn. The banners of the formations were carried by Heroes of the Soviet Union and other order bearers. Behind them moved a column of soldiers of a special battalion from among the heroes of the Soviet Union and other soldiers who especially distinguished themselves in battle. They carried banners and standards of defeated Nazi Germany, which they threw at the foot of the Mausoleum and set fire to. Further along Red Square, units of the Moscow garrison passed, then cavalrymen galloped, legendary carts passed, air defense formations, artillery, motorcyclists, light armored vehicles and heavy tanks followed. Airplanes piloted by renowned aces flew through the sky.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Victory Day parades ceased again for some time. They were revived again only in the anniversary 1995 year, when two parades took place in Moscow at once: the first on Red Square and the second on the Poklonnaya Hill memorial complex.
Happy Victory Day, my dears!
Victory Day or May 9 is a celebration of the victory of the Soviet army over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
First day of victory
The first Victory Day in history was celebrated by the Soviet people on May 9, 1945. On the occasion of the celebration, a Victory Salute was organized in Moscow - 30 victorious salvoes fired from thousands of anti-aircraft guns. There was no military parade that day, which, however, is not surprising. It took place on Red Square only a month and a half later - on June 24, and this entire period of time was spent on the necessary preparations.
The photo shows the first victory day in history - May 9, 1945. Neither the people nor the current government had time to prepare for the holiday, but that didn’t matter at all! The Soviet people were happy because the most long-awaited day had arrived - the day of the end of the Great Patriotic War.
Brief history of the holiday
The day after the death of A. Hitler, May 1, 1945, the German command decided to negotiate a truce with the USSR, but I. Stalin stated that he would only be satisfied with unconditional surrender. There was no response from Germany, after which the Soviet army dealt a crushing blow to Berlin. On the morning of May 2, Berlin was captured by Soviet soldiers, but the hostilities did not end there: German troops resisted for several more days.
The act of unconditional surrender was signed on the night of May 9, and in the morning a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued declaring May 9 the Victory Day and an official holiday.
Photo of the document recognizing May 9 as Victory Day.
May 9 in the USSR
The photo shows a military parade in honor of Victory Day on Red Square during the Soviet era.
After the end of the Second World War, Victory Day or May 9 from 1945 to 1948 was an official holiday and a non-working day, but later the day off was canceled. Only 20 years after the victory, when Brezhnev came to power, the May 9 holiday again became a day off.
How Victory Day is celebrated in modern Russia
The photo shows a military parade on Red Square after the collapse of the USSR.
After the collapse of the USSR, the first military parade on Red Square took place in 1995 in honor of the anniversary of the Victory, after which the festive procession became an annual event. Since 2008, the parade has been held with the participation of military equipment.
Victory Day Parade 2016
Video source: Russia 24
Victory Day traditions
The photo shows fireworks on Red Square in honor of Victory Day (May 9).
The main traditions of Victory Day include:
- Laying flowers at the monument to war heroes or the unknown soldier;
- A minute of silence in memory of the fallen soldiers;
- A festive parade that is held in all major cities;
- Festive fireworks in the evening, usually at 22 o'clock.
St. George Ribbon
The picture shows the St. George ribbon.
A new attribute of Victory Day is the St. George Ribbon, made of two colors: orange and black. It is believed that the black color symbolizes gunpowder, and the orange symbolizes fire, but the ribbon itself is not directly related to the Second World War.
The history of the ribbon takes us back to the reign of Empress Catherine II, who established the soldier's Order of St. George the Victorious, and with it the St. George's Ribbon in 1769 during the Russian-Turkish War. The ribbon was complemented by the motto: “For service and courage” and it was awarded to the most courageous and loyal soldiers of the Russian Empire as an encouragement. The ribbon was not just a symbol - it was accompanied by lifelong payments to the owner, after whose death the ribbon was inherited. It could be confiscated from the owner in the most exceptional cases, for example, in case of a gross violation of the law.
This combination of colors became a symbol of courage and courage, and therefore was widely used in the design of military orders and awards after the end of the empress’s reign.
Since 2005, St. George ribbons have been distributed free of charge in public places to everyone who wants to honor the memory of fallen soldiers and express admiration for the courage of veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
History of the St. George Ribbon
Video source: Ru VideoNews
On May 9, Russia celebrates a national holiday - Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, in which the Soviet people fought for the freedom and independence of their Motherland against Nazi Germany and its allies. The Great Patriotic War was the most important and decisive part of the Second World War of 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.
The act of unconditional surrender of 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, in the year of the twentieth anniversary of the victory of the 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, veterans' meetings, ceremonial events and concerts are held. 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