Western troops march on Russia's Red Square

Russia's last World War II vets honoured with flowers, tanks
Moscow (AFP) May 9, 2010 - Dressed in full military uniforms with rows of glittering medals on their chests, they trudged to Red Square, some hobbling with canes towards what might be their last Victory Day parade. The elderly veterans who fought in the Soviet Union's horrifically costly war against Nazi Germany were lavished with honours on Sunday: a rousing parade, speeches by politicians, and flowers from children. "A little girl gave me this flower at the metro station," said Vasily Smolin, 90, as he smiled and clutched a red carnation. "She was very young, and she congratulated me." Smolin was also happy that troops from four NATO countries -- wartime allies of the Soviet Union -- were taking part in the parade to mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

"This is wonderful," said Smolin, who spent the war teaching at a military academy. "The fact there will be servicemen from England, America and France participating is very good for relations between our nations." The Soviet Union lost an estimated 26.6 million people in World War II, far more than its Western allies, and Russians have long been bitter at the West for what they see as a lack of recognition of the Soviet war effort. "We gave 1.2 million Russian soldiers to liberate European countries and cities," said Vladimir Chernikov, 85, a retired Soviet air force colonel who took part in the final assault on Berlin in 1945. "So people may love us or they may not love us, but we were soldiers of the war," Chernikov said, dressed in a blue uniform with rows of medals. Younger people who attended Sunday's festivities also spoke of their deep personal links to World War II, citing family members who had fought -- and often died -- in what Russians call the Great Patriotic War.

"Practically every family suffered," said Oleg Ivanov, 43, a driver whose grandfather was killed on the front in 1941 and whose mother spent part of her childhood in a German concentration camp. "This is a tribute to the memory of the dead," added Ivanov, one of the thousands who crowded into central Moscow to get a glimpse of the parade despite a tight police presence and numerous security barriers. Those who caught the parade saw more than 10,000 troops and an eye-popping assortment of military hardware including tanks, fighter jets and nuclear-capable Topol-M missiles. Grinding noise shook the buildings and dust clouds filled the air as hulking vehicles bearing fresh coats of camouflage paint rumbled through the streets, while jets flew in formation overhead, drawing cheers from the crowd.

"Beautiful," one young man said as a column of huge Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile carriers passed by. "It's cool that they showed the hardware," said Yanis Kudryavtsev, 21, a student from the northern Russian city of Saint Petersburg who came to Moscow to watch the parade with his friends. Gulbahor Kurbanova, 42, a teacher from Uzbekistan who traveled to Moscow to watch the parade, expressed delight at the show of force. "When you see the military hardware, you get a feeling of calm, because you understand that all these forces are protecting us. It is very pleasant," she said. Kurbanova recalled proudly that her grandfather was a veteran who had been injured on the front in 1942 and lived for four more decades with a piece of German shrapnel in his leg. And her uncle, still alive, was a veteran of the home front. "Right now, I want to call Uzbekistan and congratulate him with the holiday," she said.

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) May 9, 2010
Troops from four NATO states marched through Red Square for the first time Sunday as Russia marked victory in World War II with its biggest military parade since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In a moment of huge symbolism, soldiers from Britain, France, Poland and the United States paraded on the square's famous cobbles in Moscow at the same time as nuclear-capable missiles that once would have been aimed at Western states.

Britain and the United States were the key allies of the Soviet Union in World War II but became bitter foes postwar. France and Poland were occupied by the Nazis but their exiled troops played a major role in the Allied effort.

"Sixty-five years ago, Nazism was defeated and a machine that was exterminating whole peoples was halted," President Dmitry Medvedev said in a speech to the parade.

"There was blood and tears. There was one choice -- either victory or to become slaves. The war made us a strong nation."

Two dozen world leaders attended the parade for the 65th anniversary of the victory, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of state of almost all the ex-Soviet nations.

Under blazing sunshine and to the sound of thunderous military music, Britain's 1st Battalion Welsh Guards marched in their full ceremonial uniform including traditional bearskin hats, red jackets and black trousers.

France was represented by the Normandie-Niemen squadron, which fought on the Eastern Front, the United States by a detachment from the 2nd Battalion, 18th Regiment, and Poland by a ceremonial guard of honour.

Minutes later, hundreds of Russian tanks and missile systems rolled through the square past the VIP grandstand erected in front of Lenin's mausoleum, on which Joseph Stalin stood to welcome Soviet troops home in 1945.

Regiments also marched from almost all the ex-Soviet states, with the detachment from Turkmenistan led by a commander on a white stallion, the great-grandson of the steed ridden by Marshal Georgy Zhukov in the 1945 parade.

The parade culminated with the entrance of three nuclear-capable Topol-M missiles, which have a range of 11,000 kilometres (7,000 miles).

A procession of 127 military aircraft roared through the sky, some leaving blue, red and white plumes of smoke in the colours of the Russian flag and others flying in formation to spell out the number 65.

Other planes included a special Ilyushin Il-80 designed to accommodate the Russian leadership in case of a nuclear attack.

Over 10,000 Russian troops took part in the finely choreographed parade which appeared aimed at impressing the world with Russia's post-Soviet resurgence.

"Greetings, comrades! I congratulate you on the 65th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War," declaimed Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, standing up in a black open-top Zil car as he inspected the Russian troops.

"Hurrah!" replied the troops in chorus, sending a huge wave of sound across Red Square. A civilian and former furniture executive, Serdyukov wore a suit rather than military uniform.

However the parade was also shadowed by tragedy, with over 80 coal miners and rescue workers still trapped underground after explosions at a mine in Siberia overnight that killed 12.

With Russia still finding its national identity almost two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the surrender of Nazi forces is seen by the authorities as a moment that can unify modern Russia.

However liberal analysts have expressed cynicism over the Moscow parade costing 1.3 billion ruble (40 million dollars), saying the authorities are using the event for a show of might to reinforce their own power.

The Western allies mark Victory in Europe Day each year on May 8, but Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9 as the German surrender went into force at 11:01 pm Berlin time, when it was already May 9 in Moscow.

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