09 May 2016

Russian Victory Day parade

The BBC has an article about the VE Day celebrations in Moscow:

Russian armed forces paraded in central Moscow to mark the 71st anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. Some of Russia's latest military hardware was on show, including the RS-24 Yars long-range nuclear missile.
Fighters, heavy bombers, and helicopters (photo) flew over Red Square, including types combat-tested in Syria, where Russian aircraft are helping government forces.
The march past included Russia's new National Guard, which will be armed with modernized AK-74M assault rifles and tasked with fighting terrorism and organized crime, operations which are currently the domain of interior ministry Omon and Sobr special forces.
The parade involved ten thousand military staff, over a hundred armored vehicles, and seventy aircraft, including Tupolev Tu-22M3 Backfire strategic bombers.
Servicewomen marched with the St. George's ribbon, a military symbol now fashionable in Russia:
 
Victory Day (9 May) is an occasion for the Kremlin to stir up patriotic feelings, as Russians remember the sacrifices made in World War Two.
Russia is ploughing billions of dollars into modernizing its military, amid tension with NATO over the conflict in the Ukraine, so the annual parade also shows off Russian military might for an international audience.
For the first time, a contingent from the Russian space forces joined the parade; officers and cadets from a military academy that produced famous Soviet cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin and German Titov.
The heavy armor included new Russian anti-aircraft missile systems, the S-400 and Pantsir, as well as the Iskander medium-range missile. The S-400 is currently protecting Russia's airbase near Latakia in Syria.
Addressing the armed forces, President Vladimir Putin praised the wartime feat of millions of Soviet citizens, who "demonstrated the true strength of our nation, its unity, triumphant spirit, and patriotic devotion". He also called for a "non-bloc system of international security", reiterating Russian opposition to NATO without mentioning the Western alliance by name.
There was an aerobatic display by Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack planes, which have been used by Russia to bomb rebels in Syria. The Su-25s trailed clouds of smoke in the Russian red-white-blue colors.
After the spectacular parade a vast crowd of people thronged the streets of Moscow on a march called The Immortal Regiment, commemorating their relatives killed in World War Two, which, in Russia, is called The Great Patriotic War. Among them was President Putin holding a photo of his father, who was wounded in combat. More than twenty million Soviet soldiers and civilians died in the war, the heaviest toll among all the countries which fought.
Rico says we fail to understand how traumatic that war was for them; far more so than for us...


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Mark Seymour
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Begin forwarded message:

From: Mark Seymour <mseymour@proofmark.com>
Date: May 9, 2016 at 11:06:09 AM EDT
To: Blogger Remote <mseymour1.fardan@blogger.com>
Subject: Russian WW2 Victory Day parade showcases new weapons - BBC News

Posted by Rico at 11:16

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