Russian President Vladimir Putin took a defiant tone at Moscow’s annual military Victory Day parade in Red Square, declaring that the country will continue to strengthen its armed forces.
The Kremlin strongman watched on as 13,000 troops and more than 130 pieces of weaponry were paraded through the capital as a show of Russian military strength.
Referring to his country’s battle with Nazi Germany, Putin then warned ‘the lessons of the past war are relevant once again’ as he made his case for ‘guaranteeing the high capabilities of our armed forces’.
Russia’s ties with the West soured following its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, and Moscow has continued to challenge the United States through its staunch support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
Among the hundreds of pieces of military hardware paraded in front of veterans and dignitaries was Russia’s Yars mobile intercontinental nuclear missile launcher and its advanced S-400 air defence missile system, which Moscow has deployed in Syria to protect its forces and Putin’s new £120,000 4.4 lite V-8 convertible limousine.
It also included military equipment, ranging from a T-34 tank – renowned for its effectiveness in World War II – to lumbering Yars ICBM launch units, ground-to-air rocket missile systems and Russian Armata tanks.
Russian Armata tanks roll down Red Square during the Victory Day military parade to celebrate 74 years since the victory in WWII in Red Square in Moscow
Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Oleg Salyukov salutes the troops from Putin’s new £120,000 convertible limousine during the Victory Day military parade today
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral during the Victory Day parade i which he pledged to ‘guarantee the high capabilities of our armed forces’
Russian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile systems roll through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow today
Vladimir Putin, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (left) and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (right) attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Servicemen march in formation with their rifles over their shoulders during a Victory Day military parade in Red Square in Moscow
Russian anti-aircraft system S-400 moves in formation through Red Square during the Victory Day parade in Moscow
Russian Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Sergei Avakyants reviews the troops in a vintage car during the Victory Parade
Earlier, he was forced into the last minute cancellation of a major military flypast over Red Square amid warnings of bad weather, during the parade which marks the 74th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Putin’s speech to thousands of soldiers and veterans in Red Square came at the start of the annual parade that saw hundred of pieces of military hardware roll through the streets of Moscow.
He said: ‘The lessons of the past war are relevant once again. We have done and will do all that is necessary to guarantee the high capabilities of our armed forces.
‘At the same time, Russia is open for cooperation with all who are ready to resist terrorism, neo-Nazism and extremism.
‘We call on all countries to recognise our common responsibility to create a security system that is effective and equal for everyone.’
Those in the modern Russian army remember the ‘oath’ of Soviet soldiers who fought Nazi Germany, he added: ‘I die but I will not surrender’.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian Land Forces Oleg Salyukov drive Aurus cabriolets during the Victory Day parade
A Russian honour guard soldier marching across Red Square in Moscow today. A flypast was cancelled at the last minute over fears of thunder and cloud
Osa ground-to-air missile systems salute during the Victory Day military parade marking the 74th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with WWII veterans prior to a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Servicemen march in formation. Russian officials indicated that ‘cloud-spiking’ had taken place ahead of today’s parade, but had not stopped the threat of thunder
Russian T-14 Armata tanks roll through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow
Honour guards sing as they stand in formation during the Victory Day military parade, which was hampered by the threat of thunder and cloud
Russian female military forces during the parade in Moscow. The airshow was cancelled despite attempts by the Russian authorities to ‘spike’ the clouds and stop rain falling on the capital
TR-82A armoured personnel carriers during a Victory Day military parade taking part in the show of military prowess
The decision to cancel the airshow was blamed on ‘bad weather conditions’ and specifically low cloud and the news was disclosed by Russian Defence Ministry-controlled Zvezda TV citing air traffic controllers.
There were fears of thunder and lightning too, although the weather during the parade – overseen by Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu – was dry.
Despite the cancellation Putin vowed to ensure Russia’s military capabilities as the country marked World War II Victory Day, a commemoration.
The march-past by 13,000 troops along with tanks and missile carriers went ahead but some 74 combat aircraft were banned from flying over the Kremlin by the last minute decision.
These included the Mi-26, Mi-8, Mi-28N, as well as the Ka-52 and other helicopters.
Combat aircraft including the A-50U modernised long-range radar surveillance and control aircraft, the Tu-160, Tu-22M3 and Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers also failed to take part.
Putin’s £120,000 Aurus cabriolet convertible
The limo, which has been described as a rip-off of British-manufactured Rolls Royce, will go on sale to the public later this year.
Vladimir Putin’s convertible ‘Beast’ was out in full-force during the Victory Day parade through Moscow’s Red Square.
The armoured vehicle offers ballistic and explosive protection and can be fully submerged in water.
Weighing six tons and powered by a roaring 4.4 lite V-8 engine, this Aurus cabriolet is an upgrade to the previous model used by the Kremlin over the past year.
The body of the Aurus – which gets its name from a blend of aurum, meaning gold, and Russia – has been described as ‘unapologetically Rolls Royce’. The high-powered vehicles will go on sale to the public later this year.
Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Oleg Salyukov, was seen during the Victory Day military parade saluting the troops in Putin’s new £120,000 convertible limousine.
This new model reportedly has a ‘parade mode’ which, when travelling at speeds lower than 12mph, provides a smoother ride, with Saudi Arabian politician Khalid al-Falih expressing an interest in using one of the 5,000 models projected to be manufactured a year by 2021.
The car is around 22 feet long has a 598 horsepower and can go from 0 to 60mph in nine seconds.
Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Oleg Salyukov (left) and Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu during a Victory Day military parade
Other scheduled to fly included Il-76MD military transport planes, MiG-31BM, Su-34 fighter jets, and Su-25 attack aircraft.
Routinely then Russian authorities spike clouds around Moscow with a chemical cocktail to ‘change the weather’ for major Red Square occasions, ensuring sunshine, but it appears that the technology failed to work this year.
The Soviet-era system means that while Red Square is bathed in sunshine, villages outside Moscow are drenched with rain.
A fleet of Antonov-26 aircraft are deployed to ‘spike’ clouds with a chemical cocktail of weather-changing silver iodide, liquid nitrogen and dry ice.
Russian officials indicated the cloud-spiking had taken place ahead of today’s parade.
The cancellation came four days after a Sukhoi SuperJet 100 crashed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport while making an emergency landing after it was ‘hit by lightning’, in which 41 people died.
Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief, Colonel General Oleg Salyukov, was seen during the Victory Day military parade saluting the troops in Putin’s new £120,000 convertible limousine.
Weighing six tons and powered by a roaring 4.4 lite V-8 engine, this Aurus cabriolet is an upgrade to the previous model used by the Kremlin over the past year.
Colonel General Oleg Salyukov salutes during the parade in Putin’s new £120,000 4.4 lite V-8 convertible limousine
Russian anti-aircraft system S-400 moves in formation during the Victory Day parade in Red square in Moscow today
Russian military servicemen march during the Victory Day parade on Red square in Moscow
Russian servicewomen march through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade
Russian President Vladimir Putin walking past veterans and officials during the Victory Day military parade at Red Square in downtown Moscow
A RS-24 Yars mobile intercontinental ballistic missile system rolls down Moscow’s Red Square
Russian servicemen march in the Victory Day parade. The march-past by 13,000 troops along with tanks and missile carriers went ahead but some 74 combat aircraft were banned from flying over the Kremlin due to fears over the weather
Spectators watch a Victory Day military parade and hold aloft a flag with the hammer and sickle emblem from the Soviet-era
The body of the Aurus – which gets its name from a blend of aurum, meaning gold, and Russia – has been described as ‘unapologetically Rolls Royce’. The high-powered vehicles will go on sale to the public later this year.
This new model reportedly has a ‘parade mode’ which, when travelling at speeds lower than 12mph, provides a smoother ride, with Saudi Arabian politician Khalid al-Falih expressing an interest in using one of the 5,000 models projected to be manufactured a year by 2021.
The two-day public holiday to celebrate the 1945 victory comes this year amid heightened tensions with the West and fears of a new Russia-US arms race.
Little soldiers: Controversy over Russian children in WWII uniform
A youngster in full military uniform taking part in the Victory Day parade
When kindergarten staff told Lyubov Sobol her five-year-old daughter needed to come in wearing a miniature military uniform ahead of Russia’s World War II Victory Day, she was shocked and angry.
But dressing children up in the attire for May 9, the day Russia commemorates Soviet victory over the Nazis, is far from an unusual practice in the country.
The trend has grown over President Vladimir Putin’s two decades in power, as officials highlight the conflict to boost patriotic sentiment.
Child-sized khaki tunics, jaunty caps with a red star and even wooden replica weapons are widely on sale and many youngsters wear such outfits to Victory Day events across Russia.
While popular, such outfits have also sparked controversy among parents and professionals.
Sobol said: ‘As far as I know, the initiative came from above. I don’t agree with it,’ she said, criticising what she called ‘forcing military subject matter on children.’
‘This militarised masquerade is coming to every corner of Russia,’ she said, adding that when she was at school there was no such custom.
Sobol, a lawyer who works with opposition leader Alexei Navalny, persuaded the state kindergarten to cancel the plans for children to wear military gear, with the support of other parents.
‘Kindergartens should teach children to treat people well,’ she said. ‘Not how to hold a machine gun.’
In response, conservative pro-Kremlin media accused her of a lack of patriotism, but she insisted she acted to protect ‘the rights and interests of people living in our country.’
Several other Moscow schools and kindergartens this year have asked children to wear retro uniforms for celebratory concerts and photoshoots, parents told AFP.
Others were instructed to bring military-themed ribbons or soldiers’ caps.
A spokeswoman for the Moscow education department said that the choice of clothing was ‘most likely’ an individual decision by schools.
A poll by the liberal Echo of Moscow radio station found 81 percent of Muscovites thought it was ‘wrong’ for children to wear military uniform while 17 percent said this was ‘OK’.
Moscow also recently said it would build up its military presence in the Arctic, seeking to assert its influence in the strategic region.
World leaders have attended in the past, but were conspicuous by their absence on Thursday, something the Kremlin played down.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned as Kazakh president in March after three decades in power, was the only notable foreign guest.
The Kremlin said it had not invited foreign heads of state but next year’s 75th anniversary would be marked with greater pomp as a major milestone.
Vladimir Putin attends laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after the military parade marking 74 years since the victory in WWII
A BMPT Terminator armoured fighting vehicle rolls down Moscow’s Red Square alongside hundreds of other heavy military weaponry
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu salutes to soldiers as he is driven along Red Square in an Aurus cabriolet during the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow
Putin speaking during the Victory Day in Moscow in which he warned ‘the lessons of the past war are relevant once again’
A soldier salutes as the T-14 Armata battle tank parades through Red Square today as thousands of troops marched as part of the commemoration
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall during celebrations marking the victory of the Soviet Red Army over Nazi Germany
Thousands of Russian servicemen took part in the huge parade through the capital designed to be a show of Russian military strength
The authorities, backed by state media, use the annual event to boost patriotic feeling at home, something that could help lift Putin’s approval rating which, though still high at 66 per cent in April, is down from nearly 90 per cent five years ago.
The display of raw military power is also designed to show the world and potential buyers of military hardware how a modernisation program has changed the face of the Russian military and arms industry.
However, military experts say various problems mean Russia had yet to produce in large numbers some of its newest hardware, such as the T-14 Armata battle tank, despite their Red Square outings.
In March 2018 former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned on the streets of Salisbury in a chemical attack.
They were targeted with Novichok – a deadly nerve agent manufactured in Russia’s lab rooms at the height of the Cold War.
Parades and celebrations took place in towns and cities across the country, from the European exclave of Kaliningrad to the Far Eastern Sakhalin island, near Japan.
A Russian WWII veteran being helped to view the parade during a Victory Day commemoration in Moscow’s Red Square
Russia’s Msta-S self-propelled howitzers roll through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in downtown Moscow
A WWII veteran being assisted to the Victory Day military parade marking the 74th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in the conflict from 1941 to 1945
Honour guards march during a Victory Day military parade with one waving to the crowds who gathered in Red Square
Russian Yars RS-24 intercontinental ballistic missile systems roll through Red Square as soldiers stand to attention and line the route
An Ural armoured vehicle of the Russian National Guard saluting guests and dignitaries during the parade
State television broadcast marches from around the former USSR, including from the unrecognised republic of Lugansk – a Ukrainian breakaway region run by Russia-backed separatists.
The conflict between Kiev’s forces and the separatists has cost some 13,000 lives over the last five years.
Almost half of Russians said they planned to attend a Victory Day event this year, according to state pollster VTsIOM.
Putin has sharply increased military spending over the nearly 20 years he has dominated Russian politics, handed the Russian military significant policy-making clout, and deployed Russian forces in Ukraine and Syria, stoking tensions with the West.
As commander-in-chief, he has also at times donned military uniform himself and been filmed at the controls of a strategic bomber and on the conning tower of a submarine in photo opportunities designed to boost his man of action image.
But this year’s parade was notable for the lack of major show-stopping new weapons or pieces of military hardware.
Some politicians in former Soviet republics and satellite states regard the parade as crude sabre-rattling by a resurgent Russia they say poses a threat to Europe’s security. Russia dismisses such allegations as nonsense.
Russian military servicemen march during the Victory Day parade on Red square in Moscow
Some 13,000 troops and 130 pieces of military hardware paraded through the Russian capital to mark the end of hostilities during World War Two
President Putin, (right to left in the background) Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Supreme Court Chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino during a ceremony to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A military band plays during the Victory Day parade as President Putin’s speech is broadcast on a big screen in Red Square