Moscow Celebrations

Four things to watch at Russia's V-Day parade

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-07 22:48

MOSCOW - Russia is set to hold its first national military parade to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on Sunday.

At 10:00 am Moscow time (0600 GMT) on May 9, Moscow, together with 71 other Russian cities, will simultaneously host military parades with the involvement of around 70,000 servicemen and more than 1,000 pieces of weaponry.

More than 200,000 war veterans were expected to attend the ceremonies and relevant celebrations across the country.

Also, a joint military parade was to be held by Russia and Ukraine at the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. The majority of members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were to dispatch troops to the Red Square parade.

Although a military parade will be staged every year at Moscow's Red Square along with other celebrations, this year's parade is definitely unprecedented with Russia determined to showcase its various kinds of armaments.

There are four features to watch on Victory Day.

Multinational attendance

This year, leaders from China, France, Germany, the European Union, Israel, Greece, Mongolia, Vietnam and some east European countries, as well as the heads of some CIS members and other international organizations, will gather in Moscow to help celebrate the 65th anniversary of Victory Day.

Analysts said that by inviting so many international leaders to the parade, Russia intended to further improve its relations with the West and other parts of the world. That's after ties for a time were strained due to the conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia. The strain, however, has been somewhat ameliorated by the "reset" of its ties with Washington as well as Brussels after US President Barack Obama assumed office.

Russia also intends to seek international support for justification of the Soviet Union's role during World War II, and has actively responded to some recent negative evaluations of the country.

Setting the Victory Day parade as a multilateral diplomatic platform will nonetheless consolidate Russia's active stance in its foreign relations. It also will strengthen the country's global status and clout, and create a better exterior environment for its development.

Parade on ground

Among the 159 modern weapons on display will be the debut of Russia's newest ground-based missile launcher, the Topol-M, and the Pantsir-S air defense system.

The solid-propellant three-stage Topol-M missile, with a range of about 11,000 km, is said to be immune to any current and future US missile shield defense.

The Pantsir-S, consisting of 12 surface-to-air guided missiles and two 30-millimeter automatic guns, aims to protect small-scale national and military strategic targets. It is considered effective in countering high-precision weapons. It can also be used to destroy underwater and surface light-armored targets.

Other weapons to be showcased include the Iskander-M tactical missile systems that have been started to be deployed over the past few years.

In the sky

One climax of the 90-minute parade will be an air show featuring helicopters, fighters and strategic bombers.

Some 10 Mi-8 helicopters will pioneer the fly-past presentation while hanging various kinds of flags, said Defense Ministry spokesman Vladimir Drik. The helicopter formation will also display banners marking "65" and "Victory" in mid-air, he said.

Then, a huge number "65" will be displayed in the sky, with 11 Su-25 attack jets forming the number "five" and MiG-29 fighters the number "six."

Additionally, six Su-25 attack jets will paint the national flag of Russia with red, white and blue above Red Square.

Three Tu-160 and three Tu-95 MC strategic bombers from the Russian Air Force will fly over central Moscow. Another six Tu-22 M3 supersonic strategic bombers will pass Red Square in formation. All of the bombers will be escorted by MiG-31 and MiG-29 fighter jets.

Some mid-air refueling tankers will also join the fly-past presentation.

Meanwhile, the flying groups the Russian Knights and the Swifts will join the air show with some 127 aircraft and helicopters. The world's largest helicopter the Mi-26, the Su-34 multi-functional fighter-bomber and the Yak-130 combat trainer also will make their debuts as well.

Legendary weaponry

In addition to modernized weaponry, the legendary T-34 tanks will also be shown at the parade.

The T-34 Soviet medium tank, often referred to as the best tank design of the war, was involved in the legendary military parade on November 7, 1941, which was held after Russia joined World War II and was aimed to raise morale as Nazi German forces approached Moscow. The troops headed straight to the front lines outside Moscow after the parade.