70 years ago, on June 24, 1945, the Victory Parade took place on the Red Square of Moscow. It was the triumph of the victorious Soviet people, who defeated Nazi Germany, which led the united forces of Europe in the Great Patriotic War.

The decision to hold a parade in honor of the victory over Germany was made by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin shortly after Victory Day - in mid-May 1945. The Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army S.M. Shtemenko recalled: “The Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered us to think over and report to him our thoughts on the parade to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany, while indicating: “We need to prepare and hold a special parade. Let representatives of all fronts and all branches of the armed forces take part in it ... "

On May 24, 1945, the General Staff presented to Joseph Stalin their views on holding a "special parade." The Supreme Commander accepted them, but postponed the date of the parade. The General Staff asked for two months to prepare. Stalin ordered the parade to be held in a month. On the same day, the commanders of the troops of the Leningrad, 1st and 2nd Belorussian, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts received a directive from the Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army Alexei Innokentyevich Antonov, to hold a parade:

The Supreme Commander ordered:

1. To participate in the parade in the city of Moscow in honor of the victory over Germany, allocate a consolidated regiment from the front.

2. Form a consolidated regiment according to the following calculation: five two-company battalions of 100 people in each company (ten squads of 10 people). In addition, 19 officers from the calculation: regiment commander - 1, deputy regiment commanders - 2 (for combat and political affairs), regimental chief of staff - 1, battalion commanders - 5, company commanders - 10 and 36 deputies of flagmen from 4 assistant officers. In total, there are 1059 people in the consolidated regiment and 10 spare people.

3. In the consolidated regiment, have six companies of infantry, one company of artillerymen, one company of tankers, one company of pilots and one company of combined (cavalrymen, sappers, signalmen).

4. The companies are to be equipped so that the commanders of the departments are middle officers, and in each department - privates and sergeants.

5. Personnel for participation in the parade should be selected from among the soldiers and officers who have most distinguished themselves in battles and who have military orders.

6. Equip the consolidated regiment: three rifle companies - with rifles, three rifle companies - with machine guns, a company of artillerymen - with carbines behind their backs, a company of tankers and a company of pilots - with pistols, a company of sappers, signalmen and cavalrymen - with carbines behind their backs, cavalrymen, in addition - checkers.

7. The front commander and all commanders, including aviation and tank armies, arrive at the parade.

8. The consolidated regiment to arrive in Moscow on June 10, 1945, having 36 combat banners, the most distinguished in the battles of formations and units of the front, and all enemy banners captured in battles, regardless of their number.

9. Ceremonial uniforms for the entire regiment will be issued in Moscow.

Defeated standards of the Nazi troops

Ten combined regiments of the fronts and the combined regiment of the Naval Forces were supposed to participate in the festive event. Students of military academies, cadets of military schools and troops of the Moscow garrison, as well as military equipment, including aircraft, were also involved in the parade. At the same time, the troops that existed as of May 9, 1945 of seven more fronts of the USSR Armed Forces did not take part in the parade: the Transcaucasian Front, the Far Eastern Front, the Transbaikal Front, the Western Air Defense Front, the Central Air Defense Front, the Southwestern Air Defense Front and the Transcaucasian Air Defense Front.

The troops immediately began to create consolidated regiments. The fighters for the main parade of the country were meticulously selected. First of all, they took those who showed heroism, courage and military skill in battles. Such qualities as height and age mattered. For example, in the order for the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front dated May 24, 1945, it was noted that height should not be less than 176 cm, and age should not be older than 30 years.

At the end of May, the regiments were formed. By order of May 24, there should have been 1059 people and 10 spare people in the consolidated regiment, but in the end the number was increased to 1465 people and 10 spare people. The commanders of the consolidated regiments were determined:

From the Karelian Front - Major General G. E. Kalinovsky;
- from Leningradsky - Major General A. T. Stupchenko;
- from the 1st Baltic - Lieutenant General A. I. Lopatin;
- from the 3rd Belorussian - Lieutenant General P.K. Koshevoy;
- from the 2nd Belorussian - Lieutenant General K. M Erastov;
- from the 1st Belorussian - Lieutenant General I.P. Rosly;
- from the 1st Ukrainian - Major General G.V. Baklanov;
- from the 4th Ukrainian - Lieutenant General A. L. Bondarev;
- from the 2nd Ukrainian - Guard Lieutenant General I. M. Afonin;
- from the 3rd Ukrainian - Guard Lieutenant General N. I. Biryukov;
- from the Navy - Vice Admiral V. G. Fadeev.

The Victory Parade was hosted by Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky commanded the parade. The entire organization of the parade was led by the commander of the Moscow Military District and the head of the Moscow garrison, Colonel-General Pavel Artemyevich Artemyev.

Marshal G.K. Zhukov takes the Victory Parade in Moscow

During the organization of the parade, a number of problems had to be solved in a very short time. So, if students of military academies, cadets of military schools in the capital and soldiers of the Moscow garrison had parade uniforms, then thousands of front-line soldiers had to sew them. This task was solved by garment factories in Moscow and the Moscow region. And the responsible task of preparing ten standards, under which the consolidated regiments were to come out, was entrusted to a unit of military builders. However, their project was rejected. In an emergency order, they turned for help to specialists from the art and production workshops of the Bolshoi Theater. The head of the art and props shop V. Terzibashyan and the head of the locksmith and mechanical shop N. Chistyakov coped with the assigned task. On a vertical oak shaft with a silver wreath that framed a golden five-pointed star, a horizontal metal pin with “golden” spiers at the ends was fixed. A double-sided scarlet velvet banner of the standard was hung on it, bordered with gold patterned hand knitting and with the name of the front. Separate heavy gold tassels fell down on the sides. This sketch was accepted. Hundreds of ribbons, which crowned the shafts of 360 combat banners, which were carried at the head of the consolidated regiments, were also made in the workshops of the Bolshoi Theater. Each banner represented a military unit or formation that distinguished itself in battles, and each of the ribbons marked a collective feat, marked by a military order. Most of the banners were guards.

By June 10, special trains with parade participants began to arrive in the capital. In total, 24 marshals, 249 generals, 2536 officers, 31,116 privates, sergeants participated in the parade. Hundreds of units of military equipment were prepared for the parade. The training took place at the Central Airfield named after M.V. Frunze. Soldiers and officers trained daily for 6-7 hours. And all this for the sake of three and a half minutes of an impeccable march through Red Square. Parade participants were the first in the army to be awarded the medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", established on May 9, 1945.

At the direction of the General Staff, about 900 units of captured banners and standards were delivered to Moscow from Berlin and Dresden. Of these, 200 banners and standards were selected, which were placed under guard in a special room. On the day of the parade, they were taken to Red Square in covered trucks and handed over to the soldiers of the parade company of "porters". Soviet soldiers carried enemy banners and standards with gloves, emphasizing that it was disgusting to even take the shafts of these symbols into the hands. At the parade, they will be thrown onto a special platform so that the standards do not touch the pavement of the sacred Red Square. Hitler's personal standard will be the first to be thrown, the banner of Vlasov's army will be the last. Later, this platform and gloves will be burned.

The parade was planned to start with the removal of the Victory Banner, which was delivered to the capital on June 20 from Berlin. However, the standard-bearer Neustroev and his assistants Yegorov, Kantaria and Berest, who hoisted him over the Reichstag and sent to Moscow, went extremely poorly at the rehearsal. The war was not up to drill. The same battalion commander of the 150th Idritsa-Berlin Rifle Division, Stepan Neustroev, had several wounds, his legs were damaged. As a result, they refused to take out the Banner of Victory. By order of Marshal Zhukov, the banner was transferred to the Central Museum of the Armed Forces. For the first time, the Banner of Victory was taken to the parade in 1965.

Victory parade. standard-bearers

Victory parade. Build sailors

Victory parade. Line of tank officers

Kuban Cossacks

On June 22, 1945, the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 370 was published in the central newspapers of the Union:

Order of the Supreme Commander

“To commemorate the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, I am appointing a parade of troops of the army, the Navy and the Moscow garrison on Red Square on June 24, 1945 - the Victory Parade.

Bring the combined regiments of the fronts, the combined regiment of the People's Commissariat of Defense, the combined regiment of the Navy, military academies, military schools and troops of the Moscow garrison to the parade.

The Victory Parade will be hosted by my Deputy Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov.

Command the Victory Parade to Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky.

I entrust the general leadership for organizing the parade to the commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District and the head of the garrison of the city of Moscow, Colonel General Artemyev.

Supreme Commander
Marshal of the Soviet Union I. Stalin.

The morning of June 24 was rainy. It started to rain fifteen minutes before the start of the parade. The weather improved only in the evening. Because of this, the aviation part of the parade and the passage of Soviet workers were canceled. Exactly at 10 o'clock, with the battle of the Kremlin chimes, Marshal Zhukov rode on a white horse to Red Square. At 10:50 a detour of the troops began. The Grand Marshal greeted the soldiers of the combined regiments in turn and congratulated the Parade participants on the victory over Germany. The troops responded with a mighty "Hurrah!" Having traveled around the shelves, Georgy Konstantinovich went up to the podium. The Marshal congratulated the Soviet people and their valiant armed forces on their victory. Then the anthem of the USSR was played by 1,400 military musicians, 50 volleys of artillery salute rolled like thunder, and three Russian “Hurrah!” resounded over the square.

The solemn march of victorious warriors was opened by the parade commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky. He was followed by a group of young drummers, pupils of the 2nd Moscow Military Music School. They were followed by the combined regiments of the fronts in the order in which they were located during the Great Patriotic War, from north to south. The regiment of the Karelian Front went first, then the Leningrad, 1st Baltic, 3rd Belorussian, 2nd Belorussian, 1st Belorussian (it had a group of soldiers of the Polish Army), 1st Ukrainian, 4th Ukrainian, 2nd th Ukrainian and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. The combined regiment of the Navy brought up the rear of the solemn procession.

The movement of troops was accompanied by a huge orchestra of 1,400 people. Each consolidated regiment passes under its own combat march almost without pauses. Then the orchestra fell silent and 80 drums were beaten in silence. A group of soldiers appeared, carrying 200 lowered banners and standards of the defeated German troops. They threw the banners on the wooden platforms near the Mausoleum. The stands burst into applause. It was an act full of sacred meaning, a kind of sacred rite. The symbols of Nazi Germany, and hence the "European Union-1", were defeated. Soviet civilization proved its superiority over the West.

Then the orchestra played again. Parts of the Moscow garrison, the consolidated regiment of the People's Commissariat of Defense, students of military academies and cadets of military schools marched along Red Square. The students of the Suvorov schools, the future of the victorious Red Empire, brought up the rear.

Heavy tanks IS-2 pass through Red Square during the parade in honor of the Victory on June 24, 1945

The parade lasted 2 hours in heavy rain. However, this did not bother people and did not spoil the holiday. Orchestras played, the celebration continued. The fireworks began late in the evening. At 11 p.m., out of 100 balloons raised by anti-aircraft gunners, 20 thousand rockets flew in salvos. Thus ended the great day. On June 25, 1945, a reception was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace in honor of the participants in the Victory Parade.

It was a real triumph of the victorious people, the Soviet civilization. The Soviet Union survived and won the most terrible war in mankind. Our people and army have defeated the most efficient military machine in the Western world. They destroyed the terrible embryo of the "New World Order" - the "Eternal Reich", in which they planned to destroy the entire Slavic world and enslave humanity. Unfortunately, this victory, like others, was not eternal. New generations of Russian people will again have to stand in the fight against world evil and defeat it.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin rightly pointed out in his written address to the visitors of the exhibition “Victory Parade on June 24, 1945”, which opened at the State Historical Museum on the eve of the 55th anniversary of the Victory Parade: “We must not forget this strong parade. Historical memory is the key to a worthy future for Russia. We must adopt the main thing from the heroic generation of front-line soldiers - the habit of winning. This habit is very necessary in our today's peaceful life. It will help the current generation build a strong, stable and prosperous Russia. I am confident that the spirit of the Great Victory will continue to protect our Motherland in the new, 21st century.”

SOME FACTS FROM THE HISTORY OF THE HOLIDAY

The history of the Victory Day holiday has been going on since May 9, 1945, when the act of complete surrender of Nazi Germany was signed. Despite the fact that some military operations continued after May 9, this day is considered the day of the defeat of Germany. In Western countries, it is customary to celebrate the end of World War II in Europe on May 8, since it was on that day, Central European time, at 22:43 that the act of surrender was signed. In Moscow, with its two-hour time difference, May 9 has already arrived. On the same day I.V. Stalin signed a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that May 9 becomes a public holiday - Victory Day and is declared a day off. At 6 o'clock in the morning Moscow time, this Decree was read on the radio announcer Levitan, andIn the evening, the Victory Salute was given in Moscow, the largest in the history of the USSR: thirty volleys were fired from a thousand guns.

The first full-fledged celebration in honor of the victory in the Great Patriotic War took place only on June 24, 1945. The beginning of a significant event was marked by a parade commanded by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The parade was hosted by Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, one of the most famous military leaders of the 20th century. In other cities of the USSR, festive fireworks were held in honor of the great date.

• In 1947, this significant holiday was recognized as an ordinary working day, which automatically canceled parades and other large-scale events. And only in 1965, in the year of the twentieth anniversary of the victory, May 9 was restored to its rights as a national holiday.

holiday attributes

Fireworks

The first salute in Moscow was given in honor of the successful offensive of the Soviet army in the Oryol and Belgorod directions on August 5, 1943. At that time, there were no special salute units in the USSR, nor salute ammunition with equipment. Salute "by means at hand" was carried out by artillery crews of the air defense troops and the garrison of the Moscow Kremlin. After that, a tradition was established to arrange salutes in honor of the successes of the Soviet army in battles with the Nazis.

• A large-scale salute was held after the liberation of Kharkov. This salute was very beautiful: hundreds of signal and lighting rockets soared into the sky, lined with tracer bullets from anti-aircraft machine guns. Their bullets were later found piercing the asphalt and were even injured by them. For this reason, machine guns were no longer used during salutes.

• The most grandiose salute was held on Victory Day on May 9, 1945 at 22-oo. 30 volleys were fired from a thousand, mostly anti-aircraft guns. The sky was illuminated by the festive illumination of the searchlights of the air defense forces.

Banner of Victory

The banner taken from the Reichstag, where Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria hoisted it, did not participate in the first Victory Parade. The name of the 150th division, where the soldiers served, was displayed on it, and the country's leadership considered that such a banner could not be a symbol of the Victory, which was achieved by the whole people, and not by one division. This historical injustice was corrected only much later, already in the Brezhnev era.

Festive Parade

• The Victory Parade in Russia is traditionally held on Red Square in Moscow. In addition to Moscow, May 9 parades are held in other cities of the country.

The first parade in honor of the USSR Victory in the Great Patriotic War took place on June 24, 1945 on Red Square. It was prepared very carefully. Rehearsals took a month and a half. Soldiers and officers learned to mint a step at a frequency of 120 steps per minute. First, stripes were drawn on the asphalt along the length of the step, and then they even pulled the ropes to help set the height of the step. The boots were covered with a special varnish, in which the sky was reflected like in a mirror, and metal plates were nailed to the soles, which helped to mint the step. The Parade began at ten o'clock in the morning, almost all this time it was raining, sometimes turning into a downpour. About forty thousand people participated in the Parade. Zhukov and Rokossovsky went to Red Square on white and black horses, respectively. I.V. Stalin only watched the parade from the podium of Lenin's Mausoleum. The parade ended with the release of 200 standard bearers, each of whom threw the flag of the German army at the foot of the Mausoleum.

In 1948, the tradition of holding festive parades on Red Square was interrupted and resumed in the anniversary year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory - in 1965. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, parades on Victory Day stopped again for a while. They were revived again only in the anniversary year of 1995, when two parades were held in Moscow at once: the first (on foot) on Red Square and the second (with the participation of equipment) at the Poklonnaya Gora memorial complex. Since then, Victory parades on Red Square have been held every year.

GEORGE RIBBON

Since 2005, the St. George Ribbon. I remember! I am proud!”, during which everyone can get a small St. George ribbon for free - a symbol of memory and respect for the feat of our people, who won the Great Victory over fascism. It traces its history from the ribbon to the soldier's order of St. George the Victorious, established on November 26, 1769 by Empress Catherine II. This ribbon, with minor changes, entered the USSR award system as the "Guards Ribbon" - a sign of special distinction for soldiers. She is covered with a block of a very honorable "soldier's" Order of Glory. St. George ribbon - bicolor (two-color). Ribbon colors are black (meaning smoke) and yellow-orange (flame),are a sign of the personal prowess of a soldier on the battlefield.

DO YOU KNOW...

During the Great Patriotic War, not only people, but also entire cities became heroes. For the first time, hero cities were mentioned in the order of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR on May 1, 1945. That was the name of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Sevastopol, Stalingrad (since 1961 - Volgograd) and Odessa. officially the title of "Hero City" was established on the 20th anniversary of the Victory - May 8, 1965. On this day, he was awarded to Moscow, Volgograd, Kiev, Leningrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, the Brest Fortress - the title of "Fortress-Hero". In subsequent years, this title was awarded to Kerch, Minsk, Murmansk, Novorossiysk, Smolensk, Tula. In May 2006, the Law on the title "City of Military Glory" was adopted. Currently, 27 cities carry this title.

"Molotov cocktail": this is how the Germans called our Molotov cocktails. But it was not the diplomat V.M. who came up with them at all. Molotov, and Lieutenant General A.I. Eremenko. In July 1941, he ordered that 10,000 glass bottles in a warehouse in Gomel be filled with a mixture of gasoline and phosphorus-containing substances. This composition was used in flamethrowers. These homemade grenades were convenient to hold and throw at enemy tanks. The Molotov cocktail turned out to be a simple and highly effective anti-tank weapon.

The battle for the ancient Russian city of Rzhev was the longest battle of World War II. It lasted 14 months - from January 1942 to March 1943. Near Rzhev, the Germans left almost 80% of their tanks and about 300 thousand killed soldiers and officers.

The first retaliatory bombing strike on Berlin was delivered by our five DB-3F bombers on the night of August 8, 1941.

During the Battle of Kursk, July 6, 1943, Soviet pilot Senior Lieutenant Alexander Gorobets single-handedly entered into battle with 20 enemy bombers. The battle lasted only 15 minutes, during which time Gorobets destroyed 9 Nazi aircraft. This has never happened in the history of world aviation.

The best fighter pilot in the aviation of the allied countries that fought against Nazi Germany was the Three Times Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub. He went to the front in March 1943 and until May 1945 made 330 sorties, conducted 120 air battles and shot down 62 enemy aircraft.

The most famous Soviet submariner is captain of the third rank Alexander Marinesko. He commanded the S-13 submarine in the Baltic Fleet. On January 30, 1945, S-13 attacked the "invulnerable" fascist liner "Wilhelm Gustlov", sending several thousand enemy soldiers and officers to the bottom. The sinking of the Gustlov is called the "attack of the century" by military historians.

The rocket launcher BM-13 (Combat vehicle-13) is known as the famous "Katyusha". But she was not called "Katyusha" right away. At first, our fighters called this gun "Raisa Semyonovna", as if deciphering the abbreviation "RS" - "rockets". And then someone noticed that the car has a factory brand in the form of the letter "K" (BM-13 was produced at the Moscow plant "Compressor") - that's how the name "Katyusha" was born. And the song about the girl Katyusha was very popular then.

Taran - Russian technique. On the day of June 22, 1941, Soviet pilots made at least 16 air rams. In the first, most difficult year of the war, our pilots went to ram about 400 times, and during the entire war - at least 636. One out of three remained alive.

Shoulder straps in our army were introduced in 1943, before that they were replaced by buttonholes - rectangular stripes of different colors on the collars of gymnasts and tunics. And the insignia showing the military rank were the usual geometric shapes - triangles, squares. rectangles. Asterisks were on buttonholes only for generals.

During the Great Patriotic War, an anti-tank barrier welded from scraps of railway rails was widely used - a hedgehog. German tankers, seeing such an obstacle for the first time, were sure that they would simply crush it under them. However, when the car ran into a hedgehog, he rolled under the bottom of the tank, tore off his caterpillars from the ground and he stopped. If the hedgehog hit the caterpillar, he simply tore it.

From November 20, 1941, the ration of a Leningrader was: workers - 250 grams of bread per day, employees, dependents and children under 12 years old - 125 grams, troops of the first line - 500 grams. Leningrad was under blockade for 900 days. The victims of the blockade were about a million people who died from starvation, disease, shelling and bombing.

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POEMS FOR THE HOLIDAY

Even then we were not in the world

When fireworks rumbled from end to end.

Soldiers, you gave the planet

Great May, victorious May!

Even then we were not in the world,

When in a military storm of fire,

Deciding the fate of future centuries,

You fought a holy battle!

Thank you soldiers

For life, for childhood and spring,

For silence, for a warm house,

For the world we live in!

M. Vladimov

***

Let us not be at the front in those days,

They didn’t huddle in dugouts in three rolls,

Those who forged the Victory in the forty-fifth.

Let us not pass a meter in battles,

Marches did not break our backs,

But still we are grandchildren, daughters, sons

Those who danced in the streets of Berlin.

May this unforgettable day of spring

Salute will sparkle on military awards

For all those who endured the hardships of war

And he brought us Victory in the forty-fifth ...

Anatoly KUZNETSOV

May 9, 2017, 09:35

Victory Day- a holiday of the victory of the people of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Celebrated May 9th.

Abroad, Victory Day is celebrated not on May 9, but on May 8.
War-torn Europe celebrated Victory Day sincerely and publicly. On May 9, 1945, in almost all European cities, people congratulated each other and the victorious soldiers.

In London, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square were the center of celebrations. People were congratulated by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

Winston Churchill delivered a speech from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

In the USA, there are two whole Victory Days: V-E Day(Victory Day in Europe) and V-J Day(Victory Day over Japan). Both of these Victory Days in 1945 were celebrated by the Americans on a grand scale, honoring their veterans and remembering President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Victory Day coincided with the birthday of President Harry Truman. He dedicated the victory to the memory of his predecessor, Franklin Roosevelt, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage a month before the German surrender.

Now the veterans are celebrating like this - they are going to lay wreaths and salute the dead in the city of Washington to the memorial to the heroes of World War II. And the real Victory Day in the USA is September 2, 1945.

On this day, September 2, 1945, at 09:02 Tokyo time, the Instrument of Surrender of the Empire of Japan was signed aboard the American battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. On behalf of Japan, the document was signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Chief of the General Staff Yoshijiro Umezu. Representatives of the Allied Powers were Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur, American Admiral Chester Nimitz, Commander of the British Pacific Fleet Bruce Fraser, Soviet General Kuzma Nikolaevich Derevyanko, Kuzma Nikolayevich Derevyanko, General Su Yong-chan, French General J. Leclerc, Australian General T. Blamey, Dutch Admiral K. Halfrich, New Zealand Air Vice-Marshal L. Isit and Canadian Colonel N. Moore-Cosgrave.

In addition to the USSR, May 9 was officially recognized as Victory Day only in Great Britain. This country waged a war against fascism from 1939 and until 1941 fought Hitler almost alone.

The British clearly did not have enough strength to defeat Germany, but, faced with the terrible machine of the Wehrmacht, it was they who were able to appreciate the feat of the Soviet people who crushed it.

After the end of the war, many of our veterans remained in the UK, so now England has the largest diaspora of Soviet veterans in Western Europe. It is worth noting that although Victory Day is celebrated in Britain, it is not done so pompously and loudly. There are no crowds of celebrating people, big processions and parades on the streets.

On May 9, in London, in the park near the Imperial War Museum, a traditional wreath-laying ceremony is held at the monument to Soviet soldiers and citizens who died in the war, as well as a meeting of veterans of the Northern convoys on board the Belfast cruiser.

The northern convoys and the naval fraternity, which connected the British and Soviet sailors, rallied the veterans even more strongly. The celebrations are not distinguished by splendor, but they are very worthy, with the participation of members of the royal family and senior government officials. The living survivors of the air battles with the Luftwaffe, icy, but no less hot campaigns in the northern seas and those who happened to swallow the hot sand of the African desert, after meeting on the Belfast cruiser, listen to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. There are fewer and fewer veterans, and if earlier music sounded only for them, now there are more free seats, and everyone who wants to enjoy it is invited to enjoy.

The history of the Victory Day holiday has been going on since May 9, 1945, when in the suburbs of Berlin, the Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command, Field Marshal V. Keitel from the Wehrmacht, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the USSR Georgy Zhukov from the Red Army and Air Marshal of Great Britain A. Tedder from the Allies, signed an act of unconditional and complete surrender of the Wehrmacht.

Berlin was taken on May 2, but the German troops resisted the Red Army for more than a week before the fascist command, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, finally decided to surrender.

On May 7 at 2:41 am in Reims, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. On behalf of the German High Command, the Act of Surrender was signed by General Jodl in the presence of General Walter Smith (on behalf of the Allied Expeditionary Force), General Ivan Susloparov (on behalf of the Soviet High Command) and General of the French Army Francois Sevez as a witness.

General Susloparov signed the act in Reims at his own peril and risk, as he did not have time to contact the Kremlin and receive instructions. Stalin was outraged by the signing of the surrender at Reims, in which the Western Allies played a leading role.

Representatives of the allied command (from left to right): Major General I.A. Susloparov, Lieutenant General Walter Smith, Army General Dwight Eisenhower and Air Marshal Arthur Tedder. Reims, 7 May 1945.

The document signed at Reins came into force at 11 p.m. on 8 May. Many believe that due to the time difference between the USSR and Europe, it turned out that we celebrate this holiday on different days. However, not all so simple.
The act of surrender was signed again.

Stalin ordered that Marshal Zhukov accept a general surrender in the capital of the defeated state, Berlin, from representatives of the branches of the German armed forces.

On May 8 at 22:43 CET (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time) in the suburbs of Berlin, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as the representative of the Luftwaffe, Colonel General Stumpf and the Kriegsmarine, Admiral von Friedeburg, signed the act of complete surrender of Germany again .

“I can’t help but brag,” photographer Petrusov later wrote. - It took a lot of effort for me to break away from the close-up shots of Marshal Zhukov, Keitel and others, to give way to the hard-worn seat at the very table, to go to the side, climb on the table and take this picture, which gives a general picture of the signing. I am rewarded - there is no such second picture.

However, all these details, which are of interest to researchers, in no way affect our attitude to the very fact of the Great Victory.

Berlin, May 1945

Red flags on the quadriga of the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin. May 1945. (Archive photos)

Soviet soldiers on the streets of Berlin. May 1945. (Archive photos)

Salute in honor of the Victory. On the roof of the Reichstag, soldiers of the battalion under the command of Hero of the Soviet Union Stepan Andreyevich Neustroev. May 1945. (Archive photos)

Red Army troops on the streets of Bucharest, 1944. (Archive photos)

And before all these events, Stalin signed a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that from now on May 9 becomes a public holiday Victory Day and declared a holiday. At 6 o'clock in the morning Moscow time, this Decree was read out on the radio by the announcer Levitan. The first Victory Day was celebrated by people on the streets congratulating each other, hugging, kissing and crying.

On May 9, in the evening, the Victory Salute was given in Moscow, the largest in the history of the USSR: thirty volleys were fired from a thousand guns.

But May 9 was a day off for only three years. In 1948, the war was ordered to be forgotten and all forces to be thrown into the restoration of the national economy destroyed by the war.

Only in 1965, already in the relatively prosperous era of Brezhnev, in the 20th anniversary of the Victory, the holiday was again given its due. May 9 again became a day off, Parades resumed, large-scale fireworks in all cities - Heroes and honoring veterans.
Banner of Victory

The banner taken from the Reichstag, where Yegorov and Kantaria hoisted it, did not participate in the first Victory Parade. The name of the 150th division, where the soldiers served, was displayed on it, and the country's leadership considered that such a banner could not be a symbol of the Victory, which was achieved by the whole people, and not by one division. And in fact, this is correct, since in those days this Banner was not the only thing that Soviet soldiers hoisted on the day of the capture of Berlin.

In 2007, a dispute flared up again around the banner of Victory: after all, you can see a sickle and a hammer on it - symbols of a state that no longer exists. And again common sense prevailed, and the banner again proudly flew over the ranks of soldiers and cadets, minting a step across Red Square.

In addition to the festive victory parades in the cities of the country, Victory Day has other attributes and traditions:
Laying wreaths and flowers at memorial cemeteries and monuments to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Traditionally, flowers are laid on Poklonnaya Hill and at the monument to the Unknown Soldier; in St. Petersburg, the main laying ceremony takes place at the Piskarevsky cemetery and at the memorial plaque on Nevsky Prospekt, in Volgograd on Mamaev Kurgan. And throughout the country, thousands of thousands of monuments, commemorative plaques and memorial places, where on Victory Day on May 9, everyone, young and old, bring flowers.
A moment of silence. Solemn and mourning flower-laying ceremonies are traditionally accompanied by a minute of silence in memory of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War. A moment of silence is a sign of respect for all the people who gave their lives so that today we could have a peaceful sky above our heads.

Salute of victory. Victory Day ends with fireworks. The first salute in Moscow was given in 1943 in honor of the successful offensive of the Red Army, after which a tradition arose to arrange salutes after successful operations with the Nazi troops. And, of course, one of the most grandiose salutes was the salute on May 9, 1945, on the day the complete surrender of the Nazi troops was announced. Fireworks began at 22:00 Moscow time, since then, every year at 22:00, Victory salutes begin in many cities, reminding that the country has survived, overthrown the invaders and rejoices!

St. George Ribbon.

There are fewer and fewer living witnesses to that war, more and more often the political forces of some foreign countries are trying to denigrate the heroic soldiers of our victorious army. And in order to pay tribute to the memory and reverence for the exploits of our heroes, so that the younger generation knows, remembers and is proud of its history, a new tradition was introduced in 2005 - to tie a St. George ribbon on Victory Day. The action is called “I remember! I'm proud!"

St. George ribbon - bicolor (two-color) of orange and black. It traces its history from the ribbon to the soldier's order of St. George the Victorious, established on November 26, 1769 by Empress Catherine II. This ribbon, with minor changes, was included in the USSR award system as the “Guards Ribbon” - a sign of special distinction for a soldier.

She is covered with a block of a very honorable "soldier's" Order of Glory. The black color of the ribbon means smoke, and the orange color means flame. In our time, an interesting tradition has appeared associated with this ancient symbol. On the eve of the Victory Day holiday, young people wear a ribbon as a sign of respect, memory and solidarity with the heroic Russian soldiers who defended the freedom of our country in the distant 40s.

For disrespectful attitude to the symbol, they can easily issue a fine

The new rules for wearing the symbol of Victory are being distributed among the country's population by volunteers. From the very beginning of the St. George Ribbon action, on April 24, volunteers have been warning about the strict rules that are associated with wearing the symbol.

“It is strictly forbidden to attach a ribbon to a bag or a car, wear it below the waist, on the head, tie it around the arm or treat it disrespectfully,” the website of the “Volunteers of Victory” project says, “ In case of a neglectful attitude, a citizen may face a fine.».

You can wear a St. George ribbon only on the lapel of a jacket, near the heart. This is reported to everyone who decides to take part in the St. George Ribbon campaign.

“It is a symbol of respect and memory. Therefore, we believe that it is the place on the left side of the chest. This is how we demonstrate our recognition to the departed heroes,” the volunteers add.

Metronome sounds. In St. Petersburg there is a special attribute of Victory Day - the sound of a metronome from all radio broadcasting points. During the most difficult 900 days of the siege of Leningrad, the sounds of the metronome did not stop for a minute, announcing that the city lives, the city breathes. These sounds gave vitality to the exhausted Leningraders of the siege, it can be said without exaggeration that the sounds of the metronome saved thousands of lives.

Marches of the "Immortal Regiment"
In an endless stream through the squares and streets of cities on Victory Day, soldiers who died during the war walk along with the living participants in the processions. The "Immortal Regiment" consists of photographs of these people. The descendants found a way to once again remember dear relatives and friends, pay tribute to them, bow low for their feat.

Festive Parade. The Victory Parade in Russia is traditionally held on Red Square in Moscow. In addition to Moscow, on May 9, parades are held in other cities - the heroes of the former USSR.

The first parade in honor of the Victory of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War on June 24, 1945 on Red Square.

The decision to hold the Victory Parade on Red Square was made by Stalin in mid-May 1945, almost immediately after the defeat of the last resisting group of Nazi troops on May 13th.

June 22, 1945 the Pravda newspaper published the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin No. 370: “In commemoration of the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War, I appoint June 24, 1945 in Moscow on Red Square the Parade of the troops of the Army, Navy and Moscow garrison - Victory Parade. To bring to the Parade: consolidated regiments of the fronts, a consolidated regiment of the People's Commissariat of Defense, a consolidated regiment of the Navy, military academies, military schools and troops of the Moscow garrison. The Victory Parade will be hosted by my Deputy Marshal of the Soviet Union Zhukov. Command the Victory Parade to Marshal of the Soviet Union Rokossovsky.

The first Victory Parade was prepared very carefully. According to the memoirs of veterans, rehearsals took place a month and a half. Soldiers and officers, accustomed to four years of crawling and moving in short dashes, had to be taught to mint a step at a frequency of 120 steps per minute. First, stripes were drawn on the asphalt along the length of the step, and then they even pulled the ropes to help set the height of the step. The boots were covered with a special varnish, in which the sky was reflected like in a mirror, and metal plates were nailed to the soles, which helped to mint the step. The parade began at ten o'clock in the morning, almost all this time it was raining, at times turning into a downpour, which was recorded by newsreel footage. About forty thousand people participated in the Parade. Zhukov and Rokossovsky went to Red Square on white and black horses, respectively.

Iosif Vissarionovich himself from the podium of the Lenin Mausoleum only watched the Parade. Stalin stood on the podium of the mausoleum on the left, yielding the middle to the front-line generals - the winners.

Kalinin, Molotov, Budyonny, Voroshilov and other members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee were also present on the podium. Zhukov “received” the Parade from Rokossovsky, rode along with him along the fighters lined up in ranks and greeted them with a triple “cheers”, then went up to the podium of the Mausoleum and read out a welcoming speech dedicated to the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany. Consolidated regiments of the fronts solemnly marched across Red Square: Karelian, Leningrad, 1st Baltic, 3rd, 2nd and 1st Belorussian, 1st, 4th, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian, consolidated regiment Navy. As part of the regiment of the 1st Belorussian Front, representatives of the Polish Army marched in a special column. In front of the marching columns of the fronts were the commanders of the fronts and armies with drafts drawn. The banners of the formations were carried by the Heroes of the Soviet Union and other order bearers. Behind them moved a column of soldiers of a special battalion from among the heroes of the Soviet Union and other soldiers who especially distinguished themselves in battles. They carried the banners and standards of the defeated Nazi Germany, which they threw at the foot of the Mausoleum and set it on fire. Further along Red Square, units of the Moscow garrison marched, then cavalrymen rode, legendary carts rode, air defense formations, artillery, motorcyclists, light armored vehicles and heavy tanks followed. Airplanes piloted by famous aces swept through the sky.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, parades on Victory Day stopped again for a while. They were reborn again only in the jubilee 1995 year, when two parades were held in Moscow at once: the first on Red Square and the second on the Poklonnaya Gora memorial complex.

Happy Victory Day, my dears!

On May 8, 1945, even before the signing of the act of surrender, I. V. Stalin signed a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the proclamation of May 9 as Victory Day.
On May 8, 1945 at 22:43 CET (May 9 at 00:43 Moscow time) in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the Act of Military Surrender of the German Armed Forces was signed. On behalf of the German High Command, the act was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht Supreme High Command, Field Marshal W. Keitel, the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces, Admiral of the Fleet von Friedeburg, Colonel General of Aviation G. Yu. Stumpf. The Soviet Union was represented by Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, the allies were represented by Chief Air Marshal of Great Britain A. Tedder. Present as witnesses were the Commander of the US Strategic Air Forces, General C. Spaatz, and the Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General J. M. Delattre de Tassigny.
“On the night of May 9, 1945, Muscovites did not sleep. At 2 o'clock in the morning, an important message was announced on the radio. At 2 h. 10 min. Dr. Yuri Levitan read the Act of military surrender of Nazi Germany and the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on declaring May 9 the Day of national celebration - the Victory Day. People ran out of their houses ... joyfully congratulated each other on the long-awaited victory. Banners appeared. There were more and more people, and everyone moved to Red Square. A spontaneous demonstration began. Joyful faces, songs, harmonica dances. In the evening there was fireworks: thirty volleys from a thousand guns in honor of the great Victory ”(war correspondent Alexander Ustinov). On that day, the Pravda newspaper wrote: “The ninth of May! The Soviet people will never forget this day. How will he not forget June 22, 1941 Between these dates, as it were, a century has passed. And as happens in the folk epic, during this time the Soviet man grew fabulously. He has grown so that the Red Army soldier, standing at the waving banner in Berlin, is visible to the whole world. We did not wait for the twenty-second of June. But we longed for the day to come when the last blow would knock down the black monster that insulted life. And we dealt this blow ... Incredibly joyful in my soul today. And the night sky over Moscow seems to radiate a reflection of the joy that the Soviet land is full of. We have witnessed events that volumes could be written about. But today we can fit them all into one word: victory!..».
On June 24, 1945, the first Victory Parade took place on Red Square in Moscow. The parade was hosted by Marshal G.K. Zhukov, Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky commanded the parade. The regiments of the Belorussian, Leningrad, Karelian, Ukrainian fronts, as well as the combined regiment of the Navy, marched along Red Square. The columns were led by the commanders of these regiments. Heroes of the Soviet Union carried the flags and banners of units that distinguished themselves in the war. At the end of the parade, 200 soldiers carried fascist banners bowed to the ground and threw them onto a special platform at the foot of the Lenin Mausoleum.
From 1948 to 1964 May 9 was a normal working day. In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree declaring May 9 a non-working holiday; For the first time since the end of the war, a parade of troops and military equipment of the Moscow garrison was held on Red Square in Moscow
Until 1995, parades on Red Square on Victory Day were held only in anniversary years - in 1965, 1985 and 1990. Then they began to be held annually; Since 2008, military equipment has again taken part in the parades.

Muscovites on Red Square on Victory Day

MPVO fighters congratulate artist, laureate of the State Prize, People's Artist of the USSR V.A. Michurina-Samoilova on Victory Day

May 9, 1945, Moscow, Mayakovsky Square

May 9, 1945, Moscow, Red Square

May 9, 1945, Moscow, Manezhnaya Square

May 9, 1945, New York, night celebrations on the street

Demonstration of Kalinin residents on Victory Day

Victory Day celebration in Ryazan

Folk festivities on the streets of Chkalov on Victory Day

Demonstrators on Astrakhan Square during the celebration of Victory Day

Rejoicing residents on the street of the collective farm "New Way" of the Luga region

On the Neva during the fireworks on Victory Day

Salute of Victory

Muscovites dance on Manezhnaya Square during the festivities on Victory Day

The tradition of celebrating major victories of the Soviet army with artillery salutes appeared in 1943. According to Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Eremenko, the Supreme Commander Joseph Stalin was the author of this idea.

First artillery salute took place in Moscow on August 5, 1943 in honor of the liberation of the cities of Oryol and Belgorod by the Soviet troops. According to the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin, 12 artillery volleys from 124 guns were fired in the capital with an interval of 30 seconds. Firing with blank charges was carried out by 100 anti-aircraft guns and 24 mountain guns of the Kremlin division.

Later in 1943, three categories of salutes were established - depending on the scale of military achievements.

1st degree (24 volleys from 324 guns)- in commemoration of particularly outstanding events: the liberation of the capitals of the republics of the USSR and foreign states, the achievement of the state border by Soviet troops, the end of the war with Germany's allies. The first such salute took place on November 6, 1943 on the day of the liberation of Kyiv, the last on September 3, 1945 in honor of the victory over Japan. In total in 1943-1945. produced 26 salutes of the 1st degree.

2nd degree (20 volleys from 224 guns)- in honor of the liberation of large cities, the completion of important operations, the crossing of large rivers. During the years of the Great Patriotic War, 206 such fireworks took place. The first of them was given on August 23, 1943 in honor of the liberation of Kharkov, the last on May 8, 1945 in honor of the capture of the cities of Jaromerice and Znojmo in Czechoslovakia and Gollabrunn and Stockerau in Austria.

3rd degree (12 volleys from 124 guns)- about "important military-operational achievements": the capture of significant railway, sea and highway points and road junctions, the encirclement of large enemy groupings. During the war years, 122 salutes of the 3rd degree were fired: the first was given on August 30, 1943 in honor of the liberation of Taganrog, the last on May 8, 1945 in honor of the capture of the city of Olomouc in Czechoslovakia by Soviet troops.

Salute in honor of lifting the Siege of Leningrad

Salutes were appointed by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and took place in Moscow. The only exception was the salute of the 1st degree in Leningrad on January 27, 1944 in honor of the complete lifting of the blockade of the city. Unlike the others, the order to carry it out was signed by the commander of the Leningrad Front, General of the Army Leonid Govorov, on behalf of Joseph Stalin.

Sometimes salutes in honor of the victories of the Soviet troops were given several times in the evening. So, five salutes of the 2nd degree were fired on July 27, 1944 (for the capture of the cities of Stanislav, Lvov, Bialystok in Poland; Siauliai, Daugavpils in Lithuania and Rezekne in Latvia) and January 22, 1945 (for the capture of the cities of Insterburg, Hohensaltz, Allenstein, Gniesen, Osterode, Doytsch-Aylau in East Prussia). Two salutes of the 1st degree at once and three of the 2nd took place on January 19, 1945 in connection with the liberation of the Polish cities of Krakow, Lodz, Kutno, Tomaszow, Gostynin, Lenchitsa and a number of others. In total, 355 salutes were fired during the Great Patriotic War, accompanied by fireworks of multi-colored signal flares and illuminated anti-aircraft searchlights.

Salute of Victory in Moscow

On May 9, 1945, in commemoration of the victory over Germany, a salute was fired in Moscow from 30 artillery salvos of 1,000 guns. It was accompanied by cross beams of 160 searchlights and the launch of multi-colored rockets.

In the postwar years in the USSR annually on May 9 at 21 o'clock local time (later - at 22 o'clock) a salute was fired from 30 (in 1956-1964 - 20 artillery salvos). In 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the Victory, a salute was fired from 40 volleys.The list of cities where salutes were fired was published in the order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR Among them were constantly Moscow and Leningrad, the capitals of the Union republics, and since the 1960s - hero cities and centers of military districts, fleets and flotillas.

In 1967, a special platoon of fireworks was formed in the Taman division to carry out fireworks in Moscow. Now it bears the name of the 449th separate salute division.

In 1995, the provision that Victory Day on May 9 "is celebrated annually with a military parade and artillery salute" was included in the law "On perpetuating the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

On August 5, 1943, an artillery salute was held in Moscow in honor of the liberation of the cities of Orel and Belgorod by the Soviet troops. 12 artillery volleys from 124 guns were fired with an interval of 30 seconds. In the photo: fireworks in Moscow, August 5, 1943
ITAR-TASS

Colonel General Pavel Artemyev, Commander of the Moscow Military District and Moscow Defense Zone, and Lieutenant General Daniil Zhuravlev, Commander of the Moscow Air Defense Front, were responsible for holding the first salute. In the photo: fireworks in Moscow, August 5, 1943
ITAR-TASS/B. Levshin

In the photo: fireworks in Moscow in honor of the liberation of Lviv, July 27, 1944
ITAR-TASS

In the photo: salute in honor of the liberation of Kharkov, August 23, 1943
ITAR-TASS/Naum Granovsky

On May 9, 1945, in commemoration of the victory over Nazi Germany, a special salute was given in Moscow: 30 artillery salvos from 1,000 guns, accompanied by 160 cross beams of searchlights and the launch of multi-colored rockets. On the picture:
ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Sitnikov

ITAR-TASS/Vasily Fedoseev

Victory salute in Moscow, May 9, 1945
ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Sitnikov

Victory salute in Moscow, May 9, 1945
ITAR-TASS/P. Vorobyov

Victory salute in Leningrad, May 9, 1945
ITAR-TASS/A. Brodsky

After the war, the tradition of celebrating the Victory Parade with salutes took hold. In the photo: celebration of the decade of the Victory in Moscow, 1955
ITAR-TASS/Nikolai Rakhmanov