World, anti-Hitler coalition nations and CIS join Russia in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of WWII Victory
MOSCOW, Russia — Red Square, the iconic traditional venue for holding the nation's most important landmark events for ages, was temporarily transformed into a colorful entertainment and ceremonial platform on May 9, as world leaders and armies of the Anti-Hitler Coalition Forces donning their nations’ WWII uniforms joined the Russian political leadership, heads of other CIS states and millions of ordinary Russians to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Soviet emphatic defeat over the Nazi Germany in 1945 in the Second World War (WWII), which is officially called in the former Soviet republics as “the Great Patriotic War.”
Apart from the CIS leaders, the occasion was personally graced by top global leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Israeli President Shimon Peres, WWII veteran and Soviet-era Polish President Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland's acting President Bronislaw Komorowski as well as about 30 other heads of state and governments from across the globe. In all, almost 20mln Russians, including about 5mln Moscow residents, took part in the celebrations nationwide that climaxed with colorful fireworks displays over the Kremlin and other major cities and WWII memorial sites across the country, police said.
This year’s parade on the Red Square was unique in that for the first time since marking the Great Victory Day in 1945 troops from the anti-Hitler coalition nations and NATO member states, notably, the United States, Great Britain, France and Poland as well as armies from most post-Soviet independent nations took part in the military show, which traditionally highlights Russia’s unquestionable military might, evident in the emphatic demonstrations of both Soviet-era war armaments and the country’s latest military gadgets such as the amphibian tanks, the Topol-M and Iskander strategic ballistic rocker launchers and interceptors and other military equipment.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Dmitry Medvedev praised the Soviet WWII veterans for their unparalleled heroism, selfless sacrifices and total commitments displayed in their brave resistance to Nazism. “Your feats are unparalleled in terms of bravery and power. We will never forget the soldiers that fought bravely on war fronts, the women and children that worked shifts nights and days in the factories to support our war efforts,” Medvedev said.
In recognition of the anti-Hitler coalition nations’ troops present at the ceremony, the Russia president also thanked the allies’ forces for their immeasurable war efforts, including the Lend Lease and North Convoy programs that supplied the much needed additional aid that enabled the Soviet Union to fight and eventually win the most horrendous war in terms of wasteful losses of lives and destructions in human history.
By Chris Kenneth
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