Victory Day is celebrated on May 9 - in 2019 the 74th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War will be celebrated.
Victory Day is a holiday marking the end of a murderous war that claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians.
The Victory Day will forever remain in history and will always remind of those bloody events and the great defeat of the fascist troops.
Victory Day
The Great Patriotic War, an integral part of the Second World War (1939-1945), began at dawn on June 22, 1941. On this day, Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union, violating the Soviet-German treaties concluded in 1939.
In the hostilities, which lasted almost four years and became the largest armed conflict in the history of mankind, during various periods of the war, from eight to 13 million people fought simultaneously on both sides, from seven to 19 thousand aircraft, from six to 20 thousand tanks and assault guns, from 85 to 165 thousand guns and mortars.
The occupiers planned to win a quick victory, but they miscalculated - Soviet troops exhausted the enemy in bloody battles, forced him to go on the defensive along the entire German-Soviet front, and then inflicted a series of major defeats on the enemy.
Nazi Germany signed the act of unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945 at 22:43 Central European time (at 00:43, May 9 Moscow time) in the suburbs of Berlin - it came into force on the same day at 23:01.
The ninth of May, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, was declared Victory Day over Nazi Germany and “a day of national celebration.”
The first Victory Day was celebrated like no other holiday in modern history. Celebrations and crowded rallies took place everywhere. Orchestras played in the parks and squares of cities and villages, popular theater and film artists, as well as amateur art groups performed.
On this historic day, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Joseph Stalin addressed the Soviet people. Late evening
Moscow was illuminated by the Victory salute - 30 victorious salvoes were fired by thousands of anti-aircraft guns, which at that time was a grandiose spectacle.
After the Victory salute, dozens of planes dropped garlands of multi-colored rockets over the capital, and numerous sparklers flashed in the squares.
Brief history of the holiday
The first Victory Day in history was celebrated in 1945 - a military parade was held on Red Square in Moscow in honor of the victory in the Great Patriotic War on June 24, which was hosted by Marshal Georgy Zhukov.
An event that will forever go down in world history - the deposition of Nazi banners and standards - they were thrown onto the platform near the Mausoleum, happened precisely at this parade.
Victory Day on May 9 was an official day off until 1948, then it was abolished for many years, although festive events dedicated to the victory were held in all settlements of the vast country.
The Victory Day holiday became a non-working day again only in 1965.
The holiday, in the period between 1965-1990, was celebrated on May 9 very widely - military parades held on Victory Day clearly demonstrated the full power of the Soviet army and the latest achievements in the development of military equipment.
Many countries after the collapse of the USSR, including Georgia, continue to celebrate Victory Day on May 9.
The Victory Day holiday in Russia for several years, after the collapse of the Union, lost its solemn status. Military parades on Victory Day with the participation of military equipment and military aircraft on Red Square in Moscow traditionally began to be held on May 9, 1995.
The geography of cities where the holiday is celebrated is gradually becoming wider and wider. Victory Day on May 9 is celebrated especially solemnly in the hero cities of Russia.
European countries celebrate Victory Day in World War II on May 8, the day when Germany signed the act of surrender, Central European time.
Joy with tears in my eyes
The Second World War and the Great Patriotic War are the largest battles in terms of scale and ferocity. It became a tragedy for the inhabitants of many countries of the world, bringing human losses unprecedented in history and countless suffering to millions of people.
During the hostilities, which lasted almost four years, in the USSR alone, 1,710 cities, more than 70 thousand villages, 32 thousand factories and factories were destroyed, 98 thousand collective farms were plundered - the total cost of these destructions was 128 billion dollars.
We know about the war from the stories of the older generation and from history books, but these terrible events were a reality for millions of people. The war brought a lot of grief - millions of soldiers and civilians died.
The Soviet Union lost a total of 25.6 million citizens, according to other sources 29.6 million people. At least 13.7 million of the war victims are civilians.
On Victory Day, wreaths are laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near the Eternal Flame - it burns in memory of the fallen heroes.
According to tradition, on Victory Day they visit places where battles took place, monuments of military glory, graves of fallen soldiers, where they lay flowers, as well as hold rallies and ceremonial passage of military units.
On Victory Day, veterans, of whom there are fewer and fewer every year, gather in the central squares of cities, meet with fellow soldiers, and commemorate their fallen comrades.
The memory of the dead, respect for fearless veterans and pride in their impossible feat will live in our hearts forever.
Every fifth person who fought in the Great Patriotic War was awarded - 11,681 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and 2,532 people are full holders of the Order of Glory.
The material was prepared based on open sources
May 9 is not just a holiday, it is one of the great days, revered not only in Russia, but also in many other countries of the world that suffered from the invaders. Victory Day is a holiday important for every family and every citizen. It is difficult to find a person who was not in any way affected by the terrible war that claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians. This date will never be erased from history, it will remain forever in the calendar, and will always remind of those terrible events and the great defeat of the fascist troops, which stopped the hell.
History of May 9 in the USSR
The first Victory Day in history was celebrated in 1945. Exactly at 6 a.m., the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR designating May 9 as Victory Day and assigning it the status of a day off was solemnly read out over all loudspeakers in the country.
That evening, the Victory Salute was given in Moscow - a grandiose spectacle at that time - thousands of anti-aircraft guns fired 30 victorious salvos. On the day the war ended, the city streets were filled with jubilant people. They had fun, sang songs, hugged each other, kissed and cried with happiness and pain for those who did not live to see this long-awaited event.
The first Victory Day passed without a military parade; for the first time this solemn procession took place on Red Square only on June 24. They prepared for it carefully and for a long time - for a month and a half. The following year, the parade became an integral attribute of the celebration.
However, the magnificent celebration of Victory Day lasted only for three years. Beginning in 1948, in a country destroyed by Nazi troops, the authorities considered it necessary to prioritize the restoration of cities, factories, roads, educational institutions and agriculture. They refused to allocate considerable funds from the budget for the magnificent celebration of the most important historical event and to provide an additional day off for workers.
L. I. Brezhnev made his contribution to the return of Victory Day - in 1965, on the twentieth anniversary of the Great Victory, May 9 was again colored red in the USSR calendar. This important memorable day was declared a holiday. Military parades and fireworks have resumed in all hero cities. Veterans - those who forged victory on the battlefield and behind enemy lines - enjoyed special honor and respect on the holiday. Participants in the war were invited to schools and higher educational institutions, meetings were organized with them in factories and they were warmly congratulated on the streets with words, flowers and warm hugs.
Victory Day in modern Russia
In the new Russia, Victory Day remained a Great holiday. On this day, citizens of all ages, without coercion, go in an endless stream to monuments and memorials, laying flowers and wreaths at them. Performances by famous and amateur artists take place in squares and concert venues; mass celebrations last from morning until late at night.
By tradition, military parades are held in hero cities. And in the evenings the sky lights up with festive fireworks and modern fireworks. A new attribute of May 9 was the St. George's ribbon - a symbol of heroism, courage and bravery. The ribbons were first distributed in 2005. Since then, on the eve of the holiday, they have been distributed free of charge in public places, shops, and educational institutions. Each participant proudly wears a striped ribbon on his chest, paying tribute to those who died for the Victory and peace on earth.
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, which is the most important and decisive part of the Second World War of 1939-1945, began at dawn on June 22, 1941, when Nazi Germany, violating the Soviet-German treaties of 1939, attacked the Soviet Union. Romania and Italy took its side, Slovakia joined them on June 23, Finland on June 25, Hungary on June 27, and Norway on August 16.
The war lasted almost four years and became the largest armed conflict in human history. On the front, stretching from the Barents to the Black Sea, from 8 million to 13 million people fought simultaneously on both sides in different periods, from 6 thousand to 20 thousand tanks and assault guns, from 85 thousand to 165 thousand guns and mortars, from 7 thousand to 19 thousand aircraft.
Already in 1941, the plan for a lightning war, during which the German command planned to capture the entire Soviet Union in a few months, failed. The persistent defense of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), the Arctic, Kyiv, Odessa, Sevastopol, and the Battle of Smolensk contributed to the disruption of Hitler’s plan for a lightning war.
The country survived, the course of events turned. Soviet soldiers defeated fascist troops near Moscow, Stalingrad (now Volgograd) and Leningrad, in the Caucasus, and inflicted crushing blows on the enemy in the Kursk Bulge, Right Bank Ukraine and Belarus, in the Iasi-Kishinev, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.
Over the course of almost four years of war, the Armed Forces of the USSR defeated 607 divisions of the fascist bloc. On the Eastern Front, German troops and their allies lost more than 8.6 million people. More than 75% of all enemy weapons and military equipment were captured and destroyed.
The Patriotic War, which was a tragedy in almost every Soviet family, ended in victory for the USSR. The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed in the suburbs of Berlin on May 8, 1945 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 in Europe is celebrated on May 8, and in the USSR and then in Russia - on May 9.
In the USSR, May 9 was declared Victory Day over Nazi Germany by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 8, 1945. The decree declared May 9 “a day of national celebration to commemorate the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historical victories of the Red Army, which culminated in the complete defeat of Nazi Germany, which declared unconditional surrender.” The decree declared May 9 a non-working day.
On May 9, 1945, festivities and crowded rallies took place everywhere. Amateur groups, popular theater and film artists, and orchestras performed in the squares and parks of cities and villages. At 21:00, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Joseph Stalin addressed the Soviet people. At 22:00 a salute was fired with 30 artillery salvoes from 1,000 guns. After the fireworks, dozens of planes dropped garlands of multi-colored rockets over Moscow, and numerous sparklers flashed in the squares.
In December 1947, a decree was issued by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, according to which May 9, the holiday of victory over Germany, was declared a working day.
And only in the year of the twentieth anniversary of the Victory, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of April 26, 1965, May 9 was again declared a non-working day. The holiday was given a 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.
Until 1995, parades on Red Square in Moscow on Victory Day were held only in anniversary years - in 1965, 1985 and 1990.
On May 9, 1995, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, an anniversary parade of war participants and home front workers of the war years with units of the Moscow garrison was held in Moscow on Red Square, which, according to its organizers, reproduced the historical Victory Parade of 1945. The Victory Banner was carried to the parade.
In accordance with the Federal Law of May 19, 1995 “On the Perpetuation of the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945,” May 9 was declared a national holiday - Victory Day. It is a non-working day and is celebrated annually with a military parade and artillery salute.
Since that time, there have been parades on Red Square, but without military equipment. The tradition of holding military parades on Red Square with the participation of military equipment was resumed in 2008.
From April 15, 1996, on Victory Day, when laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, holding ceremonial meetings, parades of troops and processions of veterans of the Great Patriotic War on Red Square in Moscow, along with the State Flag of the Russian Federation, the Victory Banner, hoisted over the Reichstag in May 1945, is carried out.
Since 2005, a few days before Victory Day, the patriotic event "St. George's Ribbon" starts. For millions of people not only in Russia, but also abroad, the St. George ribbon is a symbol of memory, connection between generations and military glory. In addition to the CIS countries, Germany, Great Britain, France, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Spain, Finland and other European countries, the USA, Canada, Argentina, China, Israel, and Vietnam are taking part in the event. African countries also joined the action: Morocco, Congo, South Africa, Tanzania and others.
Today, the “St. George Ribbon” campaign is a large-scale international public project, the purpose of which is to preserve the memory of the Great Victory of Russia in World War II and to counter attempts to revise history, to form the idea of patriotism and pride in the historical and modern victories of Russia.
According to established tradition, on Victory Day there are ceremonial events and concerts. 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. Since 1965, radio and television have been broadcasting a special commemorative and mourning program “Minute of Silence” on May 9.
In 2015, as part of the celebration of the anniversary of the Victory, parades or ceremonial processions of troops or personnel of the Russian Armed Forces will be held in 70 cities of Russia. Veterans of the Great Patriotic War will take part in all of them.
On this day there will also be an All-Russian procession, the participants of which carry portraits of their relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War. The event will take place in more than 800 cities and towns in Russia and 11 other countries around the world. In 2013, processions took place in approximately 170 cities and towns in Russia, in 2014 - in more than 560 settlements in five countries. Then about half a million people took part in the action.
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1. After the battle. Dead Red Army soldiers and a damaged BT tank.
2. A destroyed Soviet BT tank and a killed tanker. 
3. Dead Red Army soldiers in a trench. 
4. A dead Red Army soldier in a trench. 
5. Dead Soviet machine gun crew. 
6. Killed Soviet soldiers near the caterpillar of a KV tank. 
7. German columns pass by a cart with a Red Army soldier, which had previously come under fire. 
8. A burnt-out Soviet light tank BT-7, from which the driver never managed to get out. 
9. Dead Soviet artillerymen. 
10. Dead machine gun crew of the Red Army. 
11. After a direct hit by an artillery shell on the dugout. 
12. Burnt Soviet tanker. 
13. Dead Red Army soldier. 
14. Dead Soviet tank crews. The tank is a light Soviet tank T-26. To the right of the car stands a captured Red Army soldier (with his hands in his pockets). 
15. Dead Soviet tank crews and tank landing soldiers. Tank - T-26. 
16. Destroyed Soviet light tanks T-26 and killed Red Army soldiers. 
17. Destroyed Soviet armored car and its dead crew. 
18. A Soviet armored car BA-10 burned out and overturned into a ditch, next to which the remains of a burnt Red Army soldier are visible. 
19. Soviet heavy tank KV-2, destroyed during the battle: there are traces of numerous hits on the armor, the right side was torn apart by a large-caliber shell, the gun barrel was pierced. On the armor is a dead tanker. 
20. Soviet light tank T-26 and dead soldiers of the Red Army. 
21. Dead Red Army mortar crew. 
22. Killed Soviet soldier in a trench. 
23. Killed Red Army soldiers in a roadside ditch. It is very possible that these were prisoners shot by the Germans: the soldiers did not have belts - they were taken away from the prisoners. 
24. Dead Soviet soldiers, as well as civilians - women and children. Bodies dumped in a roadside ditch like household trash; Dense columns of German troops are calmly moving past along the road. 
25. A Soviet soldier who shot himself to avoid being captured by the Germans.
These are the events of the Lyuban offensive operation to break the blockade of Leningrad (January 7 - April 30, 1942) - after the unsuccessful offensive of the Soviet troops and their encirclement, the Germans carried out an operation on Volkhov to destroy the pocket of the 2nd Shock Army (the settlements of Myasnoy Bor, Spasskaya Polist, Mostki) . 
Until 1965, there was no holiday on May 9. It was a working day for everyone. And only in 1965 this day became a “red” day of the calendar. At the same time, the first military parade was held on Red Square. For twenty years people did not consider Victory Day a holiday. For them it was a day of mourning and remembrance. What has changed in consciousness?
Another date for the victory holiday is September 3, the day when militarized Japan was defeated. There is a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, dated September 2, 1945, that September 3 is also declared a non-working holiday.
Thus, it turns out that Victory Day was celebrated twice a year three times - in 1945, 1946 and 1947.
The celebration of Victory Day was canceled on December 24, 1947, when a new resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the CCCP was issued:
Then they constantly postponed, canceled, and rescheduled holiday dates. In 1947, Victory Day over Japan was made a working day. There was a holiday on December 22, the day of memory of Lenin - in 1951 he also became a worker. In addition, the USSR declared a cold war in 1946, after Churchill’s Fulton speech, and organizing a holiday on a nationwide scale was expensive, and from the point of view of organizing the labor of the population, it was wrong. Everyone worked and restored destroyed cities and towns, and built new factories. Partly to be ready to repel a new attack.
There is another assumption why they stopped celebrating Victory Day. The initiative came from Stalin, who perceived the post-war popularity of Georgy Zhukov as a direct threat to his post. The political cases “Aviators’ Case” and “Trophy Case” developed in the same vein in 1946-1948.