At the Victory Parade on May 9, the parade calculation of female military personnel once again struck everyone on the spot. More than 10 thousand soldiers, officers, cadets of military schools and pupils of cadet corps passed through Red Square. 114 units of military equipment passed along the Kremlin paving stones. And most of the compliments went to beauties in uniform. В этoм гoду к дeвушкaм — курсaнтaм из Вoeннoгo унивeрситeтa Минoбoрoны РФ и Вoльскoгo вoeннoгo институтa мaтeриaльнoгo oбeспeчeния присoeдинились умницы-крaсaвицы из Вoeннoй aкaдeмии связи имeни Будeннoгo и Вoeннo-кoсмичeскoй aкaдeмии имeни Мoжaйскoгo.

"Women's Battalion" with impeccable bearing and a clear drill step eclipsed anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks, and even the latest Arctic technology.

O тoм, кaк шлa пoдгoтoвкa в пaрaду, o стрoeвoм шaгe в юбкe и свaлившeйся пoпулярнoсти мы пoгoвoрили с пoлкoвникoм Oлeсeй Букoй, кoтoрaя втoрoй гoд нa пaрaдe Пoбeды вoзглaвляeт свoдный пaрaдный рaсчeт жeнщин-вoeннoслужaщиx.

Almost a girl came out to meet us from the entrance of the Military University: a fragile, slender figure, an open smile, dimples on her cheeks. The colonel's epaulettes did not fit in with a pretty appearance. But a short thrown phrase and a penetrating look of steel eyes put everything in its place. Behind the commanding voice, both the character and the remarkable will immediately became visible. We realized that in front of us was Colonel Olesya Buka. The same one that in a snow-white uniform for the second year famously spends on Red Square at the Victory Parade the parade calculation of female military personnel.

She does not hide that she is 40 years old. Even proud of his age. Behind the shoulders of Olesya Anatolyevna - 23 years of service. At the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, she is the deputy head of the department of languages ​​and culture of the peoples of the CIS and Russia. And also performs the duties of the responsible secretary of the selection committee.

- Olesya, how did you know that you were entrusted with such a responsible role?

- Last year, when the Minister of Defense decided on the participation of female military personnel in the Victory Parade, the relevant documents came to the Military University. And the leadership began to discuss who to entrust with the training of cadets. The head of one of the faculties, who was directly involved in the preparation of the parade calculation, asked me: “Would you like to lead the system?” I immediately blurted out: “I would very much like to!” When I myself was a cadet of the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, as our university was previously called, we could not even dream about it. To be honest, at that time I did not believe that we would be able to meet these requirements, that we could go on a par with the guys in the ranks. And in 2016 it became possible. My candidacy was approved. The deputy head of the university called, said: "Get ready and go to the parade ground." The decision was made very quickly. The cadets at the Alabino training ground near Moscow began to walk already on March 29. And at this time, we just made a decision to create a women's "box". It was necessary to urgently start training.

- How were the cadets selected to participate in the Victory Parade?

- They are already selected from us. Those girls who enter military universities are very motivated and purposeful. They have higher USE results, they are well prepared physically. If they became cadets, then they deserved the right to wear shoulder straps. So each of them was worthy to pass as part of the consolidated parade calculation on May 9 on Red Square. And the girls did not let us down. They showed maximum diligence in combat training.

— Were there those who dropped out?

- There were girls who did not have enough endurance, discipline, and for some, physical abilities. But there were only a few of them.

- How did the training go?

- We practiced every day for two hours, or even more. It really was hard. When you walk from the beginning to the end of the parade ground, sweat appears on your back. And this is only for one pass. But we stubbornly achieved a single kick of the foot. Trainings were held to the sound of a drum. At that moment, when the big drum hit, the left foot should have touched the surface of the earth. At first, they perfected the step with a slower rhythm, so that later, with a higher step, they would already step harmoniously and efficiently.

When we first arrived at the test site in Alabino, those present perked up, expecting that they would have a reason to laugh. As a result, when we passed, we were told that we looked quite decent. And we can do everything! Although we then went only a week. Training at the training ground was much easier than our homework. In Alabin, we just ran the ceremony on Red Square, we had two or three passes. And at home we walked without a break for several hours. At the same time, they dressed easier. Because they knew: no matter how cold it was outside, we would be hot, our backs would be wet through and through. The girls immediately ran to change after training.

- The weather this year obviously did not spoil you ...

- We had to walk in the snow, then in the rain. At one of the training sessions in Alabin, when we shouted: “I wish you good health, comrade defense minister! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!” - hail flew into our mouths.

I attended all drill drills, walked along the parade ground with the girls. I often heard in my address: "Comrade colonel, you do not have to go." I answered: “You don’t understand, the girls should see that if I can do it, then they don’t have the right to complain and say that it’s hard for them.” Therefore, I went, and I was not ashamed to demand a coordinated step from them and not whine in bad weather.

Last year, veterans came to us for training, we sang the song “Come on, girls!” to them. This year we learned a song that corresponded to the weather: “The morning greets us with coolness ...” The veterans cried, remembering their youth.

"I'm glad that women in the military have a decent headdress"

- Is the drill step in a skirt a little different?

- Yes, in skirts we walk differently, our drill step is a little different. Рeбятa-вoeннoслужaщиe из 154-гo oтдeльнoгo кoмeндaнтскoгo Прeoбрaжeнскoгo пoлкa, кaк и нaши курсaнты из Вoeннoгo унивeрситeтa, идут oчeнь прaвильным, клaссичeским стрoeвым шaгoм, кoгдa нoсoчeк зaдирaeтся ввeрx, пoтoм выпрямляeтся и нoгa стaвится нa пoлную стoпу. If a girl walks with her toe up, it will be unaesthetic, ugly. We go with our socks out. Because we are girls in skirts. This is just a small deviation from the drill charter.

The style of our skirts is straight, but not narrowed. This year we were sheathed with numerous fittings. And we asked to make the skirts loose so that you could walk in them. I then looked at the recordings of the Victory parade on Red Square and made sure that even in skirts we walked with a good wide marching step.

- At the forums, it was actively discussed that your full dress uniform has a clear resemblance to the one that military women wear at the parade in China.

- Outwardly, it looks exactly the same as our traditional dress uniform. This is a women's jacket and a straight skirt. Another thing is that the Minister of Defense for a special formal women's uniform was chosen white. We liked him. Of course, everyone understood how dirty he was. There were many drill reviews both on the territory of the university and on Red Square. And we, of course, took care of our uniform and hats.

- Many have noted your original headdress. The cap turned out to be more convenient than the cap?

- The cap is very convenient to put on in battle under a helmet. This is not a solemn, but an everyday headdress. All my life, being in the Armed Forces, I wore a cap, and I can’t say that it is very convenient. I always had to attach it with the help of invisible hairpins so that the cap would not fly off the head. The hat sits very firmly on the head. And her design is very beautiful. I have always envied that men have a cap, but we don’t. So I'm glad that women in the military have a decent headdress.

- Did you also sew boots with heels on special order?

- Yes, measurers came to us, took measurements from us. The boots had a 3 cm heel. According to the drill charter, the leg should be on a full foot. A wide, stable heel was very comfortable for walking, including on the paving stones. We didn’t have horseshoes, we didn’t “ring”. Equity, beauty and a smile were required from us.

- Were there any requirements for hairstyles and makeup?

- Initially, it was established how to style the hair. In the army, you understand, everything should be uniform. We are a system, a single "box". We tried to make the hairstyles look feminine, neat and solemn. We decided to collect the hair at the back of the head into a knot. All the girls with us are practically with long hair. If someone did not have enough hair length, they pinned a small chignon. Last year I had a short haircut, this year I specially grew my hair.

As for makeup, we decided that it should be natural. So that there is nothing pretentious. To make everything look aesthetically pleasing. No bright lipstick, shadows and arrows. We also decided not to use foundation, so that it would not crumble and spoil the shape.

- This year, have you already marched in an expanded composition?

- Last year we had a small "box", a hundred female cadets and a reduced command group. This year, two full-fledged women's "boxes" of 200 people each and an extended command group have already been presented at the parade.

- What positions will the female cadets participating in the parade then serve?

- In our Military University of the Ministry of Defense, girls at the Faculty of Finance and Economics receive the specialty "Economic Security", at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​- a specialty. Our cadets study about 30 foreign languages. The customer determines in what year and how much we need specialists in this or that foreign language.

Heads of clothing services are being trained at the Volsky Military Institute of Material Support. The girls will continue to provide the troops with logistical supplies. As for the Military Academy of Communications named after Budenny and the Military Space Academy named after Mozhaisky, the girls in the future will become indispensable specialists in the field of information and telecommunications.

"Are we cold?" - "No way!"

— Victory Day May 9, 2017 was the coldest day in the last 50 years. Didn't flinch in the "Ice Age"?

- We were allowed to enter Red Square in insulated jackets. But at 9.40 a team arrived, the pea coats were packed and taken away. We remained in full dress uniform. I reminded the girls that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers during the war years fought in 40-degree frosts, slept in the snow, sat in ambush for days. We needed to hold on quite a bit. We had this dialogue:

- Aviation in such conditions cannot work. Can we?

- That's right! - the girls answered in chorus.

- Are we cold?

- No way!

- Did you manage to see something when you walked along Red Square?

- Last year, the excitement was such that I practically did not see anything. There was a feeling that the “start” button was pressed and I went ... This year I saw absolutely everything. When we walked past the stands, the veterans smiled at us, got up from their seats, gave us a military salute. Those who could not get up waved their hands. We felt infinite gratitude for them, at the same time we were proud that we became one of the 10 thousand participants in the parade ... The words that we felt then cannot be conveyed. The female officers who took part in the Victory Parade this year told me later: “We couldn’t understand you until we ourselves ended up on Red Square.”

- What kind of medals were on the jackets of the girls cadets?

- Medals of participants in the Victory Parade on Red Square. This is a departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense. The female officers walked with their medals. У мeня нa жaкeтe былa прикoлoтa мeдaль oрдeнa «Зa зaслуги пeрeд Oтeчeствoм» II стeпeни, «Зa oтличиe в вoeннoй службe» всex стeпeнeй, a тaкжe «Зa укрeплeниe бoeвoгo сoдружeствa», тaк кaк мы oсущeствляeм пoдгoтoвку — в тoм числe и инoстрaнныx кaдрoв — и we accompany foreign delegations.

- Did you leave the uniform as a keepsake?

- This is a clothing outfit that should be stored in a warehouse.

- Last year, the British press reacted in a very peculiar way to the appearance of the parade squad of women military personnel at the Victory Parade. In particular, The Daily Mirror newspaper suspected the President of Russia of trying to "stun the enemy with an army of miniskirts."

- We understood that we would be the highlight of the parade, because the women soldiers for the first time marched in formation on May 9 along Red Square. But, to be honest, we did not expect such a reaction from the Western media. I don’t understand how they saw miniskirts in our uniform? They were just above the knee, strictly statutory length. On the first day, when they started sending me links to these publications, I, frankly speaking, got scared and even thought that we might be punished. Then I realized that this was some kind of tactical move. It became clear: if they did not notice our super technician, which has no analogues in the world, but paid attention to our knees, then we are great.

- How did your relatives and friends react to your appearance on Red Square?

“I was bombarded with messages and emails. Everyone was happy for me and proud of me. After all, I lived all the time in military aviation towns with access control. First in the Far East, then in Monin, in the Moscow region. My father, Anatoly Ivanovich, is a long-range aviation navigator, now a retired colonel. Passed the career path from a cadet of a military aviation school to a professor at the Gagarin Air Force Academy. It was he who called me Olesya in honor of the heroine of the story Alexander Kuprin. My older brother Ruslan is a ground navigator. As a child, I wanted to become a military pilot. When I finished school, the DOSAAF system had already collapsed. But the dream of becoming an officer remained. At school, in the questionnaire, I honestly wrote about my dream of flying. My parents were called to school for not taking the survey seriously. When in the senior classes I began to fill out the educational file of a candidate for admission to a military university in the military enlistment office, my teacher realized that I was not joking when I filled out the questionnaire.

Now the admission of girls to military universities is massive, but 23 years ago it was a wonder. When my mother said that there is the only military university, the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, where girls are accepted, I only asked: “What subjects should I take?” And she began to work hard in English. And I practically learned the Constitution by heart. And yet she put on shoulder straps! She entered the military law faculty, where they trained lawyers with knowledge of a foreign language. Graduated from the academy with honors. In the future, she was a legal adviser in the military unit, which was subordinate to the chemical troops, traveled through the courts.

- Was it difficult to work in a male team?

- Being a lieutenant, I felt some distrust and discontent on the part of the male officers. I had to prove every day that I am in my place and I am not inferior to them in any way. I remember that we had professional and official training, we passed tests and standards. I knew all the statutes, the protection of the state secrets, and at the shooting range I hit the targets better than some participants in the hostilities. Again, she quickly put everything on and took off the OZK (combined-arms protective kit). According to many indicators, she turned out to be better than her male colleagues. And the attitude towards me has changed.

Then I returned to my native Military University, where there was a legal service. At that moment there were no free positions, and I began to work in the educational department. Passed all positions - from assistant to deputy head of the educational department.

Now, after 23 years of service, I have to prove something to a lesser extent. There are people around me who know me well in the service. Tasks are set, and they are always carried out in good faith.

My parents continue to live in the aviation town in Monin. Although now it is no longer a closed city and the Gagarin Air Force Academy is no longer there. After the Victory Parade, when dad and mom were walking around the city, acquaintances approached them and everyone considered it his duty to report that he had seen me on Red Square. Mom jokingly admitted: “I don’t know how I didn’t burst with pride.”

At school, boys and girls also ran up to their son and asked: “Did your mother go to the Victory Parade? Was it really her?” Egor is 10 years old. I do not insist that he become an officer. But after May 9, he told me: “Probably, I will still become a military man.”

- Are you so slender, fit, have you been involved in sports all your life?

- I have no sports ranks. Moreover, in childhood I was plump. Mom sent me to ballet, and after a few months they called her and said that I was not suitable for these classes according to the constitution. Then, already in adolescence, I stretched out a lot. Life in the military town, where we, as a family, took part in all military sports holidays, had an effect. And physical education lessons were held on the street all year round.

Now at the Military University we pass a physical training test four times a year. We hand over everything honestly, no one “draws” anything for us. We go in for sports for ourselves, and also to be an example for female cadets. When they pass the physical, I am not ashamed to say that in some aspects of preparation I am better.

- Have you ever participated in beauty contests?

- I didn’t have time or desire for this.

- Does the fallen popularity interfere or inspire?

— To be honest, I don't feel any popularity. All day long I'm at work, I've been known here for many years. When I come home, I try to spend more time with my son. On weekends, my friends and I take children and go to an exhibition, to a theater or to a skating rink.

- Do you have time for hobbies?

— I am actively involved in skiing and karting. We also love to sing as a family. My brother can pick up any tune on the go, both on the guitar and on the piano, and now he even mastered the harmonica. I also graduated from a music school in my time. We even sing in the car when we go to the country. Also with friends we like to go to karaoke.

... Olesya Buka is a real colonel. And now it will go down in history. She became the first to lead the "women's battalion" across Red Square. The whole world saw that the Russian army is not only polite, but also beautiful!

The "star" of the parade on Red Square revealed its behind-the-scenes secrets

At the Victory Parade on May 9, the parade crew of female soldiers once again stunned everyone on the spot. More than 10,000 soldiers, officers, cadets of military schools and pupils of cadet corps marched along Red Square. 114 units of military equipment drove along the Kremlin paving stones. And most of the compliments went to the beauties in uniform. This year, the girls - cadets from the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Volsky Military Institute of Material Support were joined by smart-beauties from the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy.

The “Women's Battalion”, with impeccable bearing and a clear drill step, eclipsed anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks, and even the latest arctic equipment.

We talked about how the preparations went in the parade, about the drill step in a skirt and the fallen popularity, we talked with Colonel Olesya Buka, who for the second year at the Victory Parade leads the consolidated parade squad of women soldiers.

Almost a girl came out to meet us from the entrance of the Military University: a fragile, slender figure, an open smile, dimples on her cheeks. Colonel's epaulettes did not fit in with a pretty appearance. But a short thrown phrase and a penetrating look of steel eyes put everything in its place. Behind the commanding voice, both character and remarkable will immediately became visible. We realized that we were facing Colonel Olesya Buka. The one that in a snow-white uniform for the second year famously conducts a parade crew of female servicemen on Red Square at the Victory Parade.

She does not hide the fact that she is 40 years old. Even proud of his age. Olesya Anatolyevna has 23 years of service behind her. At the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, she is the Deputy Head of the Department of Languages ​​and Culture of the Peoples of the CIS and Russia. He also serves as the Executive Secretary of the Admissions Committee.

- Olesya, how did you know that you were entrusted with such a responsible role?

Last year, when the Minister of Defense decided on the participation of women soldiers in the Victory Parade, the relevant documents came to the Military University. And the leadership began to discuss who to entrust the training of cadets. The head of one of the faculties, who was directly involved in the preparation of the ceremonial calculation, asked me: “Would you like to lead the system?” I immediately blurted out: “I would very much like to!” When I myself was a cadet at the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, as our university was previously called, we could not even dream of this. To be honest, at that time I did not believe that we would be able to meet these requirements, that we could go on a par with the guys in the ranks. And in 2016, it became possible. My candidacy was approved. The deputy head of the university called and said: "Get ready and go to the parade ground." The decision was made very quickly. The cadets at the Alabino training ground near Moscow began walking on March 29. And at that time we only made a decision to create a women's "box". It was necessary to urgently start training.

- How were cadets selected to participate in the Victory Parade?

We have already selected them. Those girls who enter military universities are very motivated and purposeful. They have higher USE results, they are well prepared physically. If they became cadets, then they deserved the right to wear shoulder straps. So each of them was worthy to pass as part of the consolidated parade crew on May 9 along Red Square. And the girls didn't disappoint. They showed maximum diligence in combat training.

Most of the compliments at the parade went to beauties in uniform.

- Were there those who dropped out?

There were girls who lacked endurance, discipline, and, for some, physical abilities. But these were few.

- How was the training?

We practiced every day for two hours, or even more. It really was hard. When you walk from the beginning to the end of the parade ground, perspiration appears on your back. And that's just for one pass. But we stubbornly sought a single kick. Trainings were held to the sound of a drum. At the moment when the big drum was struck, the left foot should have touched the surface of the earth. First, they perfected the step at a slower rhythm, so that later at a higher pace, they would already step smoothly and efficiently.

When we first arrived at the Alabino training ground, those present perked up, expecting that they would have a reason to laugh. As a result, when we passed, we were told that we looked quite decent. And we can do everything! Although we then went only a week. Training at the range was much easier than our homework. In Alabino, we just ran the ceremony on Red Square, we had two or three passes. And we went home without a break for several hours. It made it easier to dress. Because they knew: no matter how cold it was outside, we would be hot, our backs would be wet through. The girls immediately ran to change after training.

The weather hasn't been kind to you this year...

We had to walk in the snow, then in the rain. At one of the training sessions in Alabin, when we shouted: “I wish you good health, Comrade Minister of Defense! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" - hail flew into our mouths.

I attended all the drill classes, walked along the parade ground with the girls. I often heard in my address: "Comrade Colonel, you don't have to go." I answered: “You don’t understand, the girls must see that if I can do this, then they don’t have the right to complain and say that it’s hard for them.” Therefore, I went, and I was not ashamed to demand a well-coordinated step from them and not whine in bad weather.

Last year, veterans came to us for training, we sang the song “Come on, girls!” to them. This year we learned a song that matched the weather: “The morning greets us with coolness ...” The veterans cried, remembering their youth.

Olesya Buka has 23 years of service behind her.

“I am glad that women soldiers have a decent headdress”

- Is the drill step in a skirt somewhat different?

Yes, we walk differently in skirts, our drill step is a little different. The military men from the 154th Separate Preobrazhensky Commandant Regiment, like our cadets from the Military University, walk in a very correct, classic combat step, when the toe lifts up, then straightens and the leg is placed on a full foot. If a girl walks with her toe up, it will be unaesthetic, ugly. We walk with our toes out. Because we are girls in skirts. This is just a small deviation from the drill charter.

The style of our skirts is straight, but not narrowed. This year we were sheathed with numerous fittings. And we asked to make the skirts loose so that you could walk in them. I later looked at the recordings of the Victory Parade on Red Square and made sure that even in skirts we walked with a good wide marching step.

It was actively discussed on the forums that your full dress uniform bears a clear resemblance to the one worn in the parade by female military personnel in China.

Outwardly, it looks exactly the same as our traditional dress uniform. This is a women's jacket and a straight skirt. Another thing is that the Minister of Defense chose white for a particularly ceremonial women's uniform. We liked him. Of course, everyone understood how easily soiled he was. There were many drill reviews both on the territory of the university and on Red Square. And we, of course, took care of our uniforms and hats.

- Many noted your original headdress. The cap turned out to be more convenient than the cap?

The cap is very convenient to put on in battle under a helmet. This is not a solemn, but everyday headdress. All my life, being in the Armed Forces, I wore a cap, and I can’t say that it is very comfortable. I always had to attach it with invisible hairpins so that the cap would not fly off my head. The cap sits very firmly on the head. And her design is very beautiful. I've always envied that men have caps and we don't. So I'm glad that women in the military have a decent headdress.

- Did you also sew boots with heels on special order?

Yes, measurers came to us, took measurements from us. The boots had a 3 cm heel. According to the drill charter, the leg should be on the full foot. And the wide, stable heel was very comfortable for walking, including on paving stones. We didn’t have horseshoes, we didn’t “ring”. We were required equalization, beauty and a smile.

- Did you have any requirements for hair and make-up?

Initially, it was established how to style the hair. In the army, you understand, everything should be uniform. We are a system, a single "box". We tried to make the hairstyles look feminine, neat and solemn. We decided to collect the hair at the back of the head in a knot. All the girls have almost long hair. If someone did not have enough hair length, they pinned a small chignon. Last year I had a short haircut, this year I specially grew my hair.

As for makeup, we decided that it should be natural. So that there is nothing fancy. To make everything look aesthetically pleasing. No bright lipstick, shadows and arrows. We also decided not to use foundation, so that it would not crumble and ruin the shape.

- Have you already marched in an expanded format this year?

Last year we had a small "box", a hundred female cadets and a reduced command group. This year, two full-fledged women's "boxes" of 200 people each and an extended command group have already been presented at the parade.

- In what positions will the female cadets participating in the parade then serve?

In our Military University of the Ministry of Defense, girls at the Faculty of Finance and Economics receive the specialty "Economic Security", at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​- the specialty of translators. Our cadets study about 30 foreign languages. The customer determines in what year and how many specialists we need in a particular foreign language.

The Volsk Military Institute of Material Support trains chiefs of clothing services. The girls will continue to provide the troops with logistical supplies. As for the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy, the girls will become indispensable specialists in the field of informatization and telecommunications in the future.

"Are we cold?" - "No way!"

- Victory Day on May 9, 2017 was the coldest day in the last 50 years. Did not flinch in the "Ice Age"?

We were allowed to enter Red Square in insulated jackets. But at 9.40 a command arrived, the jackets were packed and taken away. We remained in dress uniform. I reminded the girls that during the war years our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought in 40-degree frosts, slept in the snow, and sat in ambush for days. We needed to hold out for quite a while. We had this dialogue:

Aviation in such conditions cannot work. Can we?

Yes sir! the girls answered in unison.

Are we cold?

No way!

- Did you manage to see something when you walked along Red Square?

Last year, the excitement was such that I practically didn’t see anything. There was a feeling that the “start” button was pressed and I went ... This year I saw absolutely everything. When we walked past the stands, the veterans smiled at us, got up from their seats, and gave us a military salute. Those who could not get up waved their hands from their places. We felt infinite gratitude to them, at the same time we were proud that we became one of the 10 thousand participants in the parade ... The words that we felt then cannot be conveyed. The female officers who took part in the Victory Parade this year told me later: “We couldn’t understand you until we ourselves were on Red Square.”

- What kind of medals were on the jackets of the female cadets?

Medals of participants in the Victory Parade on Red Square. This is a departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense. Female officers walked with their medals. I had a medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree, "For Distinction in Military Service" of all degrees, and also "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth" pinned on my jacket, as we train - including foreign personnel - and we accompany foreign delegations.

- Did you leave the uniform as a keepsake?

This is clothing that must be kept in stock.

Last year, the British press reacted in a rather peculiar way to the appearance of a parade squad of women soldiers at the Victory Day parade. In particular, The Daily Mirror newspaper suspected the President of Russia of trying to "stun the enemy with an army of mini-skirts."

We understood that we would be the highlight of the parade, because for the first time women soldiers marched in formation on May 9 along Red Square. But to be honest, we did not expect such a reaction from the Western media. I don't understand how they saw mini-skirts in our uniform? They were just above the knee, strictly statutory length. On the first day, when they started sending me links to these publications, I, frankly, got scared and even thought that we might be punished. Then I realized that this was some kind of tactical move. It became clear: if they did not notice our super-technical equipment, which has no analogues in the world, but paid attention to our knees, then we are great.

- How did your relatives and friends react to your appearance on Red Square?

I was bombarded with messages and emails. Everyone was happy for me and proud of me. After all, I lived all the time in military aviation camps with access control. First in the Far East, then in Monin, in the Moscow region. My father, Anatoly Ivanovich, is a long-range aviation navigator, now a retired colonel. Passed the career path from a cadet of a military aviation school to a professor at the Gagarin Air Force Academy. It was he who called me Olesya in honor of the heroine of the story by Alexander Kuprin. My elder brother Ruslan is a ground navigator. As a child, I wanted to become a military pilot. When I graduated from school, the DOSAAF system had already collapsed. But the dream of becoming an officer remained. At school, in the questionnaire, I honestly wrote about my dream of flying. My parents were called to the school for not taking the survey seriously. When in high school I began to fill out the educational file of a candidate for admission to a military university in the military registration and enlistment office, my teacher realized that I was not joking when I filled out the questionnaire.

Now the admission of girls to military universities is massive, but 23 years ago it was a curiosity. When my mother said that there is the only military university, the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, where girls are accepted, I only asked: “What subjects should I take?” And she began to work hard in English. I practically learned the Constitution by heart. And yet she put on shoulder straps! She entered the military law faculty, where they trained lawyers with knowledge of a foreign language. Graduated from the Academy with honors. Later she was a legal adviser in the military unit, which was subordinate to the chemical troops, went to the courts.

The ceremonial calculation was very careful about its snow-white uniform.

- Was it difficult to work in a male team?

As a lieutenant, I felt some distrust and discontent on the part of the male officers. Every day I had to prove that I was in my place and I was not inferior to them at all. I remember that we had vocational training, we passed tests and standards. I knew all the statutes, the protection of state secrets, and at the shooting range I hit the targets better than some participants in the hostilities. Again, she put on and took off the OZK (combined arms protective kit) the fastest. In many respects, she turned out to be better than her male counterparts. And my attitude has changed.

Then I returned to my native Military University, where there was a legal service. At that time, there were no vacant positions, and I began to work in the training department. She passed all positions - from assistant to deputy head of the educational department.

Now, after 23 years of service, I have to prove something to a lesser extent. There are people around me who know me well in the service. Tasks are set, and they are always fulfilled in good faith.

My parents continue to live in the aviation town in Monin. Although now it is no longer a closed city and the Gagarin Air Force Academy is no longer there. After the Victory parade, when dad and mom walked around the city, acquaintances approached them and everyone considered it their duty to report that they had seen me on Red Square. Mom jokingly admitted: “I don’t know how I didn’t burst with pride.”

At school, guys and girls also ran up to their son and asked: “Did your mother go to the Victory Parade? Was that really her?" Egor is 10 years old. I do not insist that he become an officer. But after May 9, he told me: “Probably, I will still become a military man.”

- Are you so slender, fit, have you been doing sports all your life?

I don't have sports ranks. Moreover, as a child, I was plump. Mom gave me to ballet, and a few months later she was called and told that I was not suitable for these classes according to the constitution. Then, already in my teens, I stretched out a lot. Life in the military camp affected, where we as a family participated in all military sports festivals. And physical education lessons were held on the street all year round.

Now at the Military University we are tested for physical training four times a year. We hand over everything honestly, no one “draws” anything for us. We go in for sports both for ourselves, and also to be an example for female cadets. When they pass physical, I am not ashamed to say that in some aspects of preparation I am better.

- Never participated in beauty contests?

I didn't have the time or desire for it.

- Fallen popularity hinders or inspires?

To be honest, I don't feel any popularity. I am at work all day long, I have been known here for many years. When I come home, I try to spend more time with my son. On weekends, my friends and I take the children and go to an exhibition, to the theater or to the skating rink.

- Do you have time for hobbies?

I am actively involved in skiing and karting. We also love to sing as a family. My brother can immediately pick up any melody both on the guitar and on the piano, and now he even mastered the harmonica. I also graduated from music school. We sing even in the car when we go to the country. We also like to go to karaoke with friends.

Olesya Buka is a real colonel. And now it will go down in history. She became the first to lead a "women's battalion" across Red Square. The whole world saw that the Russian army is not only polite, but also beautiful!

The "star" of the parade on Red Square revealed its behind-the-scenes secrets

At the Victory Parade on May 9, the parade crew of female soldiers once again stunned everyone on the spot. More than 10,000 soldiers, officers, cadets of military schools and pupils of cadet corps marched along Red Square. 114 units of military equipment drove along the Kremlin paving stones. And most of the compliments went to the beauties in uniform. This year, the girls - cadets from the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Volsky Military Institute of Material Support were joined by smart-beauties from the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy.

The “Women's Battalion”, with impeccable bearing and a clear drill step, eclipsed anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks, and even the latest arctic equipment.

We talked about how the preparations went in the parade, about the drill step in a skirt and the fallen popularity, we talked with Colonel Olesya Buka, who for the second year at the Victory Parade leads the consolidated parade squad of women soldiers.

Most of the compliments at the parade went to beauties in uniform.

Almost a girl came out to meet us from the entrance of the Military University: a fragile, slender figure, an open smile, dimples on her cheeks. Colonel's epaulettes did not fit in with a pretty appearance. But a short thrown phrase and a penetrating look of steel eyes put everything in its place. Behind the commanding voice, both character and remarkable will immediately became visible. We realized that we were facing Colonel Olesya Buka. The one that in a snow-white uniform for the second year famously conducts a parade crew of female servicemen on Red Square at the Victory Parade.

She does not hide the fact that she is 40 years old. Even proud of his age. Olesya Anatolyevna has 23 years of service behind her. At the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, she is the Deputy Head of the Department of Languages ​​and Culture of the Peoples of the CIS and Russia. He also serves as the Executive Secretary of the Admissions Committee.

- Olesya, how did you know that you were entrusted with such a responsible role?

Last year, when the Minister of Defense decided on the participation of women soldiers in the Victory Parade, the relevant documents came to the Military University. And the leadership began to discuss who to entrust the training of cadets. The head of one of the faculties, who was directly involved in the preparation of the ceremonial calculation, asked me: “Would you like to lead the system?” I immediately blurted out: “I would very much like to!” When I myself was a cadet at the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, as our university was previously called, we could not even dream of this. To be honest, at that time I did not believe that we would be able to meet these requirements, that we could go on a par with the guys in the ranks. And in 2016, it became possible. My candidacy was approved. The deputy head of the university called and said: "Get ready and go to the parade ground." The decision was made very quickly. The cadets at the Alabino training ground near Moscow began walking on March 29. And at that time we only made a decision to create a women's "box". It was necessary to urgently start training.

- How were cadets selected to participate in the Victory Parade?

We have already selected them. Those girls who enter military universities are very motivated and purposeful. They have higher USE results, they are well prepared physically. If they became cadets, then they deserved the right to wear shoulder straps. So each of them was worthy to pass as part of the consolidated parade crew on May 9 along Red Square. And the girls didn't disappoint. They showed maximum diligence in combat training.

Colonel Olesya Buka.

- Were there those who dropped out?

There were girls who lacked endurance, discipline, and, for some, physical abilities. But these were few.

- How was the training?

We practiced every day for two hours, or even more. It really was hard. When you walk from the beginning to the end of the parade ground, perspiration appears on your back. And that's just for one pass. But we stubbornly sought a single kick. Trainings were held to the sound of a drum. At the moment when the big drum was struck, the left foot should have touched the surface of the earth. First, they perfected the step at a slower rhythm, so that later at a higher pace, they would already step smoothly and efficiently.

When we first arrived at the Alabino training ground, those present perked up, expecting that they would have a reason to laugh. As a result, when we passed, we were told that we looked quite decent. And we can do everything! Although we then went only a week. Training at the range was much easier than our homework. In Alabino, we just ran the ceremony on Red Square, we had two or three passes. And we went home without a break for several hours. It made it easier to dress. Because they knew: no matter how cold it was outside, we would be hot, our backs would be wet through. The girls immediately ran to change after training.

- The weather this year obviously did not indulge you ...

We had to walk in the snow, then in the rain. At one of the training sessions in Alabin, when we shouted: “I wish you good health, Comrade Minister of Defense! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" - hail flew into our mouths.

I attended all the drill classes, walked along the parade ground with the girls. I often heard in my address: "Comrade Colonel, you don't have to go." I answered: “You don’t understand, the girls must see that if I can do this, then they don’t have the right to complain and say that it’s hard for them.” Therefore, I went, and I was not ashamed to demand a well-coordinated step from them and not whine in bad weather.

Last year, veterans came to us for training, we sang the song “Come on, girls!” to them. This year we learned a song that matched the weather: “The morning greets us with coolness ...” The veterans cried, remembering their youth.

Olesya Buka has 23 years of service behind her.

“I am glad that women soldiers have a decent headdress”

- Is the drill step in a skirt somewhat different?

Yes, we walk differently in skirts, our drill step is a little different. The military men from the 154th Separate Preobrazhensky Commandant Regiment, like our cadets from the Military University, walk in a very correct, classic combat step, when the toe lifts up, then straightens and the leg is placed on a full foot. If a girl walks with her toe up, it will be unaesthetic, ugly. We walk with our toes out. Because we are girls in skirts. This is just a small deviation from the drill charter.

The style of our skirts is straight, but not narrowed. This year we were sheathed with numerous fittings. And we asked to make the skirts loose so that you could walk in them. I later looked at the recordings of the Victory Parade on Red Square and made sure that even in skirts we walked with a good wide marching step.

It was actively discussed on the forums that your full dress uniform bears a clear resemblance to the one worn in the parade by female military personnel in China.

Outwardly, it looks exactly the same as our traditional dress uniform. This is a women's jacket and a straight skirt. Another thing is that the Minister of Defense chose white for a particularly ceremonial women's uniform. We liked him. Of course, everyone understood how easily soiled he was. There were many drill reviews both on the territory of the university and on Red Square. And we, of course, took care of our uniforms and hats.

- Many noted your original headdress. The cap turned out to be more convenient than the cap?

The cap is very convenient to put on in battle under a helmet. This is not a solemn, but everyday headdress. All my life, being in the Armed Forces, I wore a cap, and I can’t say that it is very comfortable. I always had to attach it with invisible hairpins so that the cap would not fly off my head. The cap sits very firmly on the head. And her design is very beautiful. I've always envied that men have caps and we don't. So I'm glad that women in the military have a decent headdress.

- Did you also sew boots with heels on special order?

Yes, measurers came to us, took measurements from us. The boots had a 3 cm heel. According to the drill charter, the leg should be on the full foot. And the wide, stable heel was very comfortable for walking, including on paving stones. We didn’t have horseshoes, we didn’t “ring”. We were required equalization, beauty and a smile.

- Did you have any requirements for hair and make-up?

Initially, it was established how to style the hair. In the army, you understand, everything should be uniform. We are a system, a single "box". We tried to make the hairstyles look feminine, neat and solemn. We decided to collect the hair at the back of the head in a knot. All the girls have almost long hair. If someone did not have enough hair length, they pinned a small chignon. Last year I had a short haircut, this year I specially grew my hair.

As for makeup, we decided that it should be natural. So that there is nothing fancy. To make everything look aesthetically pleasing. No bright lipstick, shadows and arrows. We also decided not to use foundation, so that it would not crumble and ruin the shape.

- Have you already marched in an expanded format this year?

Last year we had a small "box", a hundred female cadets and a reduced command group. This year, two full-fledged women's "boxes" of 200 people each and an extended command group have already been presented at the parade.

- In what positions will the female cadets participating in the parade then serve?

In our Military University of the Ministry of Defense, girls at the Faculty of Finance and Economics receive the specialty "Economic Security", at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​- the specialty of translators. Our cadets study about 30 foreign languages. The customer determines in what year and how many specialists we need in a particular foreign language.

The Volsk Military Institute of Material Support trains chiefs of clothing services. The girls will continue to provide the troops with logistical supplies. As for the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy, the girls will become indispensable specialists in the field of informatization and telecommunications in the future.

"Are we cold?" - "No way!"

- Victory Day on May 9, 2017 was the coldest day in the last 50 years. Did not flinch in the "Ice Age"?

We were allowed to enter Red Square in insulated jackets. But at 9.40 a command arrived, the jackets were packed and taken away. We remained in dress uniform. I reminded the girls that during the war years our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought in 40-degree frosts, slept in the snow, and sat in ambush for days. We needed to hold out for quite a while. We had this dialogue:

Aviation in such conditions cannot work. Can we?

Yes sir! the girls answered in unison.

Are we cold?

No way!

- Did you manage to see something when you walked along Red Square?

Last year, the excitement was such that I practically didn’t see anything. There was a feeling that the “start” button was pressed and I went ... This year I saw absolutely everything. When we walked past the stands, the veterans smiled at us, got up from their seats, and gave us a military salute. Those who could not get up waved their hands from their places. We felt infinite gratitude to them, at the same time we were proud that we became one of the 10 thousand participants in the parade ... The words that we felt then cannot be conveyed. The female officers who took part in the Victory Parade this year told me later: “We couldn’t understand you until we ourselves were on Red Square.”

- What kind of medals were on the jackets of the female cadets?

Medals of participants in the Victory Parade on Red Square. This is a departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense. Female officers walked with their medals. I had a medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree, "For Distinction in Military Service" of all degrees, and also "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth" pinned on my jacket, as we train - including foreign personnel - and we accompany foreign delegations.

- Did you leave the uniform as a keepsake?

This is clothing that must be kept in stock.

Last year, the British press reacted in a rather peculiar way to the appearance of a parade squad of women soldiers at the Victory Day parade. In particular, The Daily Mirror newspaper suspected the President of Russia of trying to "stun the enemy with an army of mini-skirts."

We understood that we would be the highlight of the parade, because for the first time women soldiers marched in formation on May 9 along Red Square. But to be honest, we did not expect such a reaction from the Western media. I don't understand how they saw mini-skirts in our uniform? They were just above the knee, strictly statutory length. On the first day, when they started sending me links to these publications, I, frankly, got scared and even thought that we might be punished. Then I realized that this was some kind of tactical move. It became clear: if they did not notice our super-technical equipment, which has no analogues in the world, but paid attention to our knees, then we are great.

- How did your relatives and friends react to your appearance on Red Square?

I was bombarded with messages and emails. Everyone was happy for me and proud of me. After all, I lived all the time in military aviation camps with access control. First in the Far East, then in Monin, in the Moscow region. My father, Anatoly Ivanovich, is a long-range aviation navigator, now a retired colonel. Passed the career path from a cadet of a military aviation school to a professor at the Gagarin Air Force Academy. It was he who called me Olesya in honor of the heroine of the story by Alexander Kuprin. My elder brother Ruslan is a ground navigator. As a child, I wanted to become a military pilot. When I graduated from school, the DOSAAF system had already collapsed. But the dream of becoming an officer remained. At school, in the questionnaire, I honestly wrote about my dream of flying. My parents were called to the school for not taking the survey seriously. When in high school I began to fill out the educational file of a candidate for admission to a military university in the military registration and enlistment office, my teacher realized that I was not joking when I filled out the questionnaire.

Now the admission of girls to military universities is massive, but 23 years ago it was a curiosity. When my mother said that there is the only military university, the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, where girls are accepted, I only asked: “What subjects should I take?” And she began to work hard in English. I practically learned the Constitution by heart. And yet she put on shoulder straps! She entered the military law faculty, where they trained lawyers with knowledge of a foreign language. Graduated from the Academy with honors. Later she was a legal adviser in the military unit, which was subordinate to the chemical troops, went to the courts.

The ceremonial calculation was very careful about its snow-white uniform.

- Was it difficult to work in a male team?

As a lieutenant, I felt some distrust and discontent on the part of the male officers. Every day I had to prove that I was in my place and I was not inferior to them at all. I remember that we had vocational training, we passed tests and standards. I knew all the statutes, the protection of state secrets, and at the shooting range I hit the targets better than some participants in the hostilities. Again, she put on and took off the OZK (combined arms protective kit) the fastest. In many respects, she turned out to be better than her male counterparts. And my attitude has changed.

Then I returned to my native Military University, where there was a legal service. At that time, there were no vacant positions, and I began to work in the training department. She passed all positions - from assistant to deputy head of the educational department.

Now, after 23 years of service, I have to prove something to a lesser extent. There are people around me who know me well in the service. Tasks are set, and they are always fulfilled in good faith.

My parents continue to live in the aviation town in Monin. Although now it is no longer a closed city and the Gagarin Air Force Academy is no longer there. After the Victory parade, when dad and mom walked around the city, acquaintances approached them and everyone considered it their duty to report that they had seen me on Red Square. Mom jokingly admitted: “I don’t know how I didn’t burst with pride.”

At school, guys and girls also ran up to their son and asked: “Did your mother go to the Victory Parade? Was that really her?" Egor is 10 years old. I do not insist that he become an officer. But after May 9, he told me: “Probably, I will still become a military man.”

- Are you so slender, fit, have you been doing sports all your life?

I don't have sports ranks. Moreover, as a child, I was plump. Mom gave me to ballet, and a few months later she was called and told that I was not suitable for these classes according to the constitution. Then, already in my teens, I stretched out a lot. Life in the military camp affected, where we as a family participated in all military sports festivals. And physical education lessons were held on the street all year round.

Now at the Military University we are tested for physical training four times a year. We hand over everything honestly, no one “draws” anything for us. We go in for sports both for ourselves, and also to be an example for female cadets. When they pass physical, I am not ashamed to say that in some aspects of preparation I am better.

- Never participated in beauty contests?

I didn't have the time or desire for it.

- Fallen popularity hinders or inspires?

To be honest, I don't feel any popularity. I am at work all day long, I have been known here for many years. When I come home, I try to spend more time with my son. On weekends, my friends and I take the children and go to an exhibition, to the theater or to the skating rink.

- Do you have time for hobbies?

I am actively involved in skiing and karting. We also love to sing as a family. My brother can immediately pick up any melody both on the guitar and on the piano, and now he even mastered the harmonica. I also graduated from music school. We sing even in the car when we go to the country. We also like to go to karaoke with friends.

... Olesya Buka is a real colonel. And now it will go down in history. She became the first to lead a "women's battalion" across Red Square. The whole world saw that the Russian army is not only polite, but also beautiful!

At the Victory Parade on May 9, the parade crew of female soldiers once again stunned everyone on the spot. More than 10,000 soldiers, officers, cadets of military schools and pupils of cadet corps marched along Red Square. 114 units of military equipment drove along the Kremlin paving stones. And most of the compliments went to the beauties in uniform. This year, the girls - cadets from the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Volsky Military Institute of Material Support were joined by smart-beauties from the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy.

The “Women's Battalion”, with impeccable bearing and a clear drill step, eclipsed anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks, and even the latest arctic equipment.

We talked about how the preparations went in the parade, about the drill step in a skirt and the fallen popularity, we talked with Colonel Olesya Buka, who for the second year at the Victory Parade leads the consolidated parade squad of women soldiers.

Almost a girl came out to meet us from the entrance of the Military University: a fragile, slender figure, an open smile, dimples on her cheeks. Colonel's epaulettes did not fit in with a pretty appearance. But a short thrown phrase and a penetrating look of steel eyes put everything in its place. Behind the commanding voice, both character and remarkable will immediately became visible. We realized that we were facing Colonel Olesya Buka. The one that in a snow-white uniform for the second year famously conducts a parade crew of female servicemen on Red Square at the Victory Parade.

She does not hide the fact that she is 40 years old. Even proud of his age. Olesya Anatolyevna has 23 years of service behind her. At the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, she is the Deputy Head of the Department of Languages ​​and Culture of the Peoples of the CIS and Russia. He also serves as the Executive Secretary of the Admissions Committee.

- Olesya, how did you know that you were entrusted with such a responsible role?

Last year, when the Minister of Defense decided on the participation of women soldiers in the Victory Parade, the relevant documents came to the Military University. And the leadership began to discuss who to entrust the training of cadets. The head of one of the faculties, who was directly involved in the preparation of the ceremonial calculation, asked me: “Would you like to lead the system?” I immediately blurted out: “I would very much like to!” When I myself was a cadet at the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, as our university was previously called, we could not even dream of this. To be honest, at that time I did not believe that we would be able to meet these requirements, that we could go on a par with the guys in the ranks. And in 2016, it became possible. My candidacy was approved. The deputy head of the university called and said: "Get ready and go to the parade ground." The decision was made very quickly. The cadets at the Alabino training ground near Moscow began walking on March 29. And at that time we only made a decision to create a women's "box". It was necessary to urgently start training.

We have already selected them. Those girls who enter military universities are very motivated and purposeful. They have higher USE results, they are well prepared physically. If they became cadets, then they deserved the right to wear shoulder straps. So each of them was worthy to pass as part of the consolidated parade crew on May 9 along Red Square. And the girls didn't disappoint. They showed maximum diligence in combat training.

- Were there those who dropped out?

There were girls who lacked endurance, discipline, and, for some, physical abilities. But these were few.

- How was the training?

We practiced every day for two hours, or even more. It really was hard. When you walk from the beginning to the end of the parade ground, perspiration appears on your back. And that's just for one pass. But we stubbornly sought a single kick. Trainings were held to the sound of a drum. At the moment when the big drum was struck, the left foot should have touched the surface of the earth. First, they perfected the step at a slower rhythm, so that later at a higher pace, they would already step smoothly and efficiently.

When we first arrived at the Alabino training ground, those present perked up, expecting that they would have a reason to laugh. As a result, when we passed, we were told that we looked quite decent. And we can do everything! Although we then went only a week. Training at the range was much easier than our homework. In Alabino, we just ran the ceremony on Red Square, we had two or three passes. And we went home without a break for several hours. It made it easier to dress. Because they knew: no matter how cold it was outside, we would be hot, our backs would be wet through. The girls immediately ran to change after training.

- Were there those who dropped out?

We had to walk in the snow, then in the rain. At one of the training sessions in Alabin, when we shouted: “I wish you good health, Comrade Minister of Defense! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" - hail flew into our mouths.

I attended all the drill classes, walked along the parade ground with the girls. I often heard in my address: "Comrade Colonel, you don't have to go." I answered: “You don’t understand, the girls must see that if I can do this, then they don’t have the right to complain and say that it’s hard for them.” Therefore, I went, and I was not ashamed to demand a well-coordinated step from them and not whine in bad weather.

Last year, veterans came to us for training, we sang the song “Come on, girls!” to them. This year we learned a song that matched the weather: “The morning greets us with coolness ...” The veterans cried, remembering their youth.

“I am glad that women soldiers have a decent headdress”

- Is the drill step in a skirt somewhat different?

Yes, we walk differently in skirts, our drill step is a little different. The military men from the 154th Separate Preobrazhensky Commandant Regiment, like our cadets from the Military University, walk in a very correct, classic combat step, when the toe lifts up, then straightens and the leg is placed on a full foot. If a girl walks with her toe up, it will be unaesthetic, ugly. We walk with our toes out. Because we are girls in skirts. This is just a small deviation from the drill charter.

The style of our skirts is straight, but not narrowed. This year we were sheathed with numerous fittings. And we asked to make the skirts loose so that you could walk in them. I later looked at the recordings of the Victory Parade on Red Square and made sure that even in skirts we walked with a good wide marching step.

- It was actively discussed on the forums that your full dress uniform has a clear resemblance to the one worn by female soldiers in China at the parade.

Outwardly, it looks exactly the same as our traditional dress uniform. This is a women's jacket and a straight skirt. Another thing is that the Minister of Defense chose white for a particularly ceremonial women's uniform. We liked him. Of course, everyone understood how easily soiled he was. There were many drill reviews both on the territory of the university and on Red Square. And we, of course, took care of our uniforms and hats.

- Many noted your original headdress. The cap turned out to be more convenient than the cap?

The cap is very convenient to put on in battle under a helmet. This is not a solemn, but everyday headdress. All my life, being in the Armed Forces, I wore a cap, and I can’t say that it is very comfortable. I always had to attach it with invisible hairpins so that the cap would not fly off my head. The cap sits very firmly on the head. And her design is very beautiful. I've always envied that men have caps and we don't. So I'm glad that women in the military have a decent headdress.

- Did you also sew boots with heels on special order?

Yes, measurers came to us, took measurements from us. The boots had a 3 cm heel. According to the drill charter, the leg should be on the full foot. And the wide, stable heel was very comfortable for walking, including on paving stones. We didn’t have horseshoes, we didn’t “ring”. We were required equalization, beauty and a smile.

- Did you have any requirements for hair and make-up?

Initially, it was established how to style the hair. In the army, you understand, everything should be uniform. We are a system, a single "box". We tried to make the hairstyles look feminine, neat and solemn. We decided to collect the hair at the back of the head in a knot. All the girls have almost long hair. If someone did not have enough hair length, they pinned a small chignon. Last year I had a short haircut, this year I specially grew my hair.

As for makeup, we decided that it should be natural. So that there is nothing fancy. To make everything look aesthetically pleasing. No bright lipstick, shadows and arrows. We also decided not to use foundation, so that it would not crumble and ruin the shape.

- Have you already marched in an expanded format this year?

In our Military University of the Ministry of Defense, girls at the Faculty of Finance and Economics receive the specialty "Economic Security", at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​- the specialty of translators. Our cadets study about 30 foreign languages. The customer determines in what year and how many specialists we need in a particular foreign language.

The Volsk Military Institute of Material Support trains chiefs of clothing services. The girls will continue to provide the troops with logistical supplies. As for the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy, the girls will become indispensable specialists in the field of informatization and telecommunications in the future.

"Are we cold?" - "No way!"

- Victory Day on May 9, 2017 was the coldest day in the last 50 years. Did not flinch in the "Ice Age"?

We were allowed to enter Red Square in insulated jackets. But at 9.40 a command arrived, the jackets were packed and taken away. We remained in dress uniform. I reminded the girls that during the war years our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought in 40-degree frosts, slept in the snow, and sat in ambush for days. We needed to hold out for quite a while. We had this dialogue:

- Aviation in such conditions cannot work. Can we?

Yes sir! the girls answered in unison.

Are we cold?

- No way!

- Did you manage to see something when you walked along Red Square?

Last year, the excitement was such that I practically didn’t see anything. There was a feeling that the “start” button was pressed and I went ... This year I saw absolutely everything. When we walked past the stands, the veterans smiled at us, got up from their seats, and gave us a military salute. Those who could not get up waved their hands from their places. We felt infinite gratitude to them, at the same time we were proud that we became one of the 10 thousand participants in the parade ... The words that we felt then cannot be conveyed. The female officers who took part in the Victory Parade this year told me later: “We couldn’t understand you until we ourselves were on Red Square.”

Medals of participants in the Victory Parade on Red Square. This is a departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense. Female officers walked with their medals. I had a medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree, "For Distinction in Military Service" of all degrees, and also "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth" pinned on my jacket, as we train - including foreign personnel - and we accompany foreign delegations.

- Did you leave the uniform as a keepsake?

This is clothing that must be kept in stock.

- Last year, the British press reacted in a very peculiar way to the appearance of the parade squad of women soldiers at the Victory Parade. In particular, The Daily Mirror newspaper suspected the President of Russia of trying to "stun the enemy with an army of mini-skirts."

We understood that we would be the highlight of the parade, because for the first time women soldiers marched in formation on May 9 along Red Square. But to be honest, we did not expect such a reaction from the Western media. I don't understand how they saw mini-skirts in our uniform? They were just above the knee, strictly statutory length. On the first day, when they started sending me links to these publications, I, frankly, got scared and even thought that we might be punished. Then I realized that this was some kind of tactical move. It became clear: if they did not notice our super-technical equipment, which has no analogues in the world, but paid attention to our knees, then we are great.

- How did your relatives and friends react to your appearance on Red Square?

I was bombarded with messages and emails. Everyone was happy for me and proud of me. After all, I lived all the time in military aviation camps with access control. First in the Far East, then in Monin, in the Moscow region. My father, Anatoly Ivanovich, is a long-range aviation navigator, now a retired colonel. Passed the career path from a cadet of a military aviation school to a professor at the Gagarin Air Force Academy. It was he who called me Olesya in honor of the heroine of the story Alexandra Kuprina. My elder brother Ruslan is a ground navigator. As a child, I wanted to become a military pilot. When I graduated from school, the DOSAAF system had already collapsed. But the dream of becoming an officer remained. At school, in the questionnaire, I honestly wrote about my dream of flying. My parents were called to the school for not taking the survey seriously. When in high school I began to fill out the educational file of a candidate for admission to a military university in the military registration and enlistment office, my teacher realized that I was not joking when I filled out the questionnaire.

Now the admission of girls to military universities is massive, but 23 years ago it was a curiosity. When my mother said that there is the only military university, the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, where girls are accepted, I only asked: “What subjects should I take?” And she began to work hard in English. I practically learned the Constitution by heart. And yet she put on shoulder straps! She entered the military law faculty, where they trained lawyers with knowledge of a foreign language. Graduated from the Academy with honors. Later she was a legal adviser in the military unit, which was subordinate to the chemical troops, went to the courts.

- Was it difficult to work in a male team?

As a lieutenant, I felt some distrust and discontent on the part of the male officers. Every day I had to prove that I was in my place and I was not inferior to them at all. I remember that we had vocational training, we passed tests and standards. I knew all the statutes, the protection of state secrets, and at the shooting range I hit the targets better than some participants in the hostilities. Again, she put on and took off the OZK (combined arms protective kit) the fastest. In many respects, she turned out to be better than her male counterparts. And my attitude has changed.

Then I returned to my native Military University, where there was a legal service. At that time, there were no vacant positions, and I began to work in the training department. She passed all positions - from assistant to deputy head of the educational department.

Now, after 23 years of service, I have to prove something to a lesser extent. There are people around me who know me well in the service. Tasks are set, and they are always fulfilled in good faith.

My parents continue to live in the aviation town in Monin. Although now it is no longer a closed city and the Gagarin Air Force Academy is no longer there. After the Victory parade, when dad and mom walked around the city, acquaintances approached them and everyone considered it their duty to report that they had seen me on Red Square. Mom jokingly admitted: “I don’t know how I didn’t burst with pride.”

At school, guys and girls also ran up to their son and asked: “Did your mother go to the Victory Parade? Was that really her?" Egor is 10 years old. I do not insist that he become an officer. But after May 9, he told me: “Probably, I will still become a military man.”

- Are you so slender, fit, have you been doing sports all your life?

I don't have sports ranks. Moreover, as a child, I was plump. Mom gave me to ballet, and a few months later she was called and told that I was not suitable for these classes according to the constitution. Then, already in my teens, I stretched out a lot. Life in the military camp affected, where we as a family participated in all military sports festivals. And physical education lessons were held on the street all year round.

Now at the Military University we are tested for physical training four times a year. We hand over everything honestly, no one “draws” anything for us. We go in for sports both for ourselves, and also to be an example for female cadets. When they pass physical, I am not ashamed to say that in some aspects of preparation I am better.

I didn't have the time or desire for it.

- Fallen popularity hinders or inspires?

To be honest, I don't feel any popularity. I am at work all day long, I have been known here for many years. When I come home, I try to spend more time with my son. On weekends, my friends and I take the children and go to an exhibition, to the theater or to the skating rink.

- Do you have time for hobbies?

I am actively involved in skiing and karting. We also love to sing as a family. My brother can immediately pick up any melody both on the guitar and on the piano, and now he even mastered the harmonica. I also graduated from music school. We sing even in the car when we go to the country. We also like to go to karaoke with friends.

Olesya Buka is a real colonel. And now it will go down in history. She became the first to lead a "women's battalion" across Red Square. The whole world saw that the Russian army is not only polite, but also beautiful!

At the Victory Parade on May 9, the parade crew of female soldiers once again stunned everyone on the spot. More than 10,000 soldiers, officers, cadets of military schools and pupils of cadet corps marched along Red Square. 114 units of military equipment drove along the Kremlin paving stones.

And most of the compliments went to the beauties in uniform. This year, the girls - cadets from the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Volsky Military Institute of Material Support were joined by smart-beauties from the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy.

The “Women's Battalion”, with impeccable bearing and a clear drill step, eclipsed anti-aircraft missile systems and tanks, and even the latest arctic equipment.

We talked about how the preparations went in the parade, about the drill step in a skirt and the fallen popularity, we talked with Colonel Olesya Buka, who for the second year at the Victory Parade leads the consolidated parade squad of women soldiers.

Most of the compliments at the parade went to beauties in uniform.

Almost a girl came out to meet us from the entrance of the Military University: a fragile, slender figure, an open smile, dimples on her cheeks. Colonel's epaulettes did not fit in with a pretty appearance. But a short thrown phrase and a penetrating look of steel eyes put everything in its place. Behind the commanding voice, both character and remarkable will immediately became visible. We realized that we were facing Colonel Olesya Buka. The one that in a snow-white uniform for the second year famously conducts a parade crew of female servicemen on Red Square at the Victory Parade.

She does not hide the fact that she is 40 years old. Even proud of his age. Olesya Anatolyevna has 23 years of service behind her. At the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, she is the Deputy Head of the Department of Languages ​​and Culture of the Peoples of the CIS and Russia. He also serves as the Executive Secretary of the Admissions Committee.

- Olesya, how did you know that you were entrusted with such a responsible role?

Last year, when the Minister of Defense decided on the participation of women soldiers in the Victory Parade, the relevant documents came to the Military University. And the leadership began to discuss who to entrust the training of cadets. The head of one of the faculties, who was directly involved in the preparation of the ceremonial calculation, asked me: “Would you like to lead the system?” I immediately blurted out: “I would very much like to!” When I myself was a cadet at the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, as our university was previously called, we could not even dream of this. To be honest, at that time I did not believe that we would be able to meet these requirements, that we could go on a par with the guys in the ranks. And in 2016, it became possible. My candidacy was approved. The deputy head of the university called and said: "Get ready and go to the parade ground." The decision was made very quickly. The cadets at the Alabino training ground near Moscow began walking on March 29. And at that time we only made a decision to create a women's "box". It was necessary to urgently start training.

- How were cadets selected to participate in the Victory Parade?

We have already selected them. Those girls who enter military universities are very motivated and purposeful. They have higher USE results, they are well prepared physically. If they became cadets, then they deserved the right to wear shoulder straps. So each of them was worthy to pass as part of the consolidated parade crew on May 9 along Red Square. And the girls didn't disappoint. They showed maximum diligence in combat training.

Colonel Olesya Buka.

- Were there those who dropped out?

There were girls who lacked endurance, discipline, and, for some, physical abilities. But these were few.

- How was the training?

We practiced every day for two hours, or even more. It really was hard. When you walk from the beginning to the end of the parade ground, perspiration appears on your back. And that's just for one pass. But we stubbornly sought a single kick. Trainings were held to the sound of a drum. At the moment when the big drum was struck, the left foot should have touched the surface of the earth. First, they perfected the step at a slower rhythm, so that later at a higher pace, they would already step smoothly and efficiently.

When we first arrived at the Alabino training ground, those present perked up, expecting that they would have a reason to laugh. As a result, when we passed, we were told that we looked quite decent. And we can do everything! Although we then went only a week. Training at the range was much easier than our homework. In Alabino, we just ran the ceremony on Red Square, we had two or three passes. And we went home without a break for several hours. It made it easier to dress. Because they knew: no matter how cold it was outside, we would be hot, our backs would be wet through. The girls immediately ran to change after training.

The weather hasn't been kind to you this year...

We had to walk in the snow, then in the rain. At one of the training sessions in Alabin, when we shouted: “I wish you good health, Comrade Minister of Defense! Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" - hail flew into our mouths.

I attended all the drill classes, walked along the parade ground with the girls. I often heard in my address: "Comrade Colonel, you don't have to go." I answered: “You don’t understand, the girls must see that if I can do this, then they don’t have the right to complain and say that it’s hard for them.” Therefore, I went, and I was not ashamed to demand a well-coordinated step from them and not whine in bad weather.

Last year, veterans came to us for training, we sang the song “Come on, girls!” to them. This year we learned a song that matched the weather: “The morning greets us with coolness ...” The veterans cried, remembering their youth.

Olesya Buka has 23 years of service behind her.

“I am glad that women soldiers have a decent headdress”

- Is the drill step in a skirt somewhat different?

Yes, we walk differently in skirts, our drill step is a little different. The military men from the 154th Separate Preobrazhensky Commandant Regiment, like our cadets from the Military University, walk in a very correct, classic combat step, when the toe lifts up, then straightens and the leg is placed on a full foot. If a girl walks with her toe up, it will be unaesthetic, ugly. We walk with our toes out. Because we are girls in skirts. This is just a small deviation from the drill charter.

The style of our skirts is straight, but not narrowed. This year we were sheathed with numerous fittings. And we asked to make the skirts loose so that you could walk in them. I later looked at the recordings of the Victory Parade on Red Square and made sure that even in skirts we walked with a good wide marching step.

It was actively discussed on the forums that your full dress uniform bears a clear resemblance to the one worn in the parade by female military personnel in China.

Outwardly, it looks exactly the same as our traditional dress uniform. This is a women's jacket and a straight skirt. Another thing is that the Minister of Defense chose white for a particularly ceremonial women's uniform. We liked him. Of course, everyone understood how easily soiled he was. There were many drill reviews both on the territory of the university and on Red Square. And we, of course, took care of our uniforms and hats.

- Many noted your original headdress. The cap turned out to be more convenient than the cap?

The cap is very convenient to put on in battle under a helmet. This is not a solemn, but everyday headdress. All my life, being in the Armed Forces, I wore a cap, and I can’t say that it is very comfortable. I always had to attach it with invisible hairpins so that the cap would not fly off my head. The cap sits very firmly on the head. And her design is very beautiful. I've always envied that men have caps and we don't. So I'm glad that women in the military have a decent headdress.

- Did you also sew boots with heels on special order?

Yes, measurers came to us, took measurements from us. The boots had a 3 cm heel. According to the drill charter, the leg should be on the full foot. And the wide, stable heel was very comfortable for walking, including on paving stones. We didn’t have horseshoes, we didn’t “ring”. We were required equalization, beauty and a smile.

- Did you have any requirements for hair and make-up?

Initially, it was established how to style the hair. In the army, you understand, everything should be uniform. We are a system, a single "box". We tried to make the hairstyles look feminine, neat and solemn. We decided to collect the hair at the back of the head in a knot. All the girls have almost long hair. If someone did not have enough hair length, they pinned a small chignon. Last year I had a short haircut, this year I specially grew my hair.

As for makeup, we decided that it should be natural. So that there is nothing fancy. To make everything look aesthetically pleasing. No bright lipstick, shadows and arrows. We also decided not to use foundation, so that it would not crumble and ruin the shape.

- Have you already marched in an expanded format this year?

Last year we had a small "box", a hundred female cadets and a reduced command group. This year, two full-fledged women's "boxes" of 200 people each and an extended command group have already been presented at the parade.

- In what positions will the female cadets participating in the parade then serve?

In our Military University of the Ministry of Defense, girls at the Faculty of Finance and Economics receive the specialty "Economic Security", at the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​- the specialty of translators. Our cadets study about 30 foreign languages. The customer determines in what year and how many specialists we need in a particular foreign language.

The Volsk Military Institute of Material Support trains chiefs of clothing services. The girls will continue to provide the troops with logistical supplies. As for the Budyonny Military Academy of Communications and the Mozhaisky Military Space Academy, the girls will become indispensable specialists in the field of informatization and telecommunications in the future.

"Are we cold?" - "No way!"

- Victory Day on May 9, 2017 was the coldest day in the last 50 years. Did not flinch in the "Ice Age"?

We were allowed to enter Red Square in insulated jackets. But at 9.40 a command arrived, the jackets were packed and taken away. We remained in dress uniform. I reminded the girls that during the war years our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought in 40-degree frosts, slept in the snow, and sat in ambush for days. We needed to hold out for quite a while. We had this dialogue:

Aviation in such conditions cannot work. Can we?

Yes sir! the girls answered in unison.

Are we cold?

No way!

- Did you manage to see something when you walked along Red Square?

Last year, the excitement was such that I practically didn’t see anything. There was a feeling that the “start” button was pressed and I went ... This year I saw absolutely everything. When we walked past the stands, the veterans smiled at us, got up from their seats, and gave us a military salute. Those who could not get up waved their hands from their places. We felt infinite gratitude to them, at the same time we were proud that we became one of the 10 thousand participants in the parade ... The words that we felt then cannot be conveyed. The female officers who took part in the Victory Parade this year told me later: “We couldn’t understand you until we ourselves were on Red Square.”

- What kind of medals were on the jackets of the female cadets?

Medals of participants in the Victory Parade on Red Square. This is a departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense. Female officers walked with their medals. I had a medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" II degree, "For Distinction in Military Service" of all degrees, and also "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth" pinned on my jacket, as we train - including foreign personnel - and we accompany foreign delegations.

- Did you leave the uniform as a keepsake?

This is clothing that must be kept in stock.

Last year, the British press reacted in a rather peculiar way to the appearance of a parade squad of women soldiers at the Victory Day parade. In particular, The Daily Mirror newspaper suspected the President of Russia of trying to "stun the enemy with an army of mini-skirts."

We understood that we would be the highlight of the parade, because for the first time women soldiers marched in formation on May 9 along Red Square. But to be honest, we did not expect such a reaction from the Western media. I don't understand how they saw mini-skirts in our uniform? They were just above the knee, strictly statutory length. On the first day, when they started sending me links to these publications, I, frankly, got scared and even thought that we might be punished. Then I realized that this was some kind of tactical move. It became clear: if they did not notice our super-technical equipment, which has no analogues in the world, but paid attention to our knees, then we are great.

- How did your relatives and friends react to your appearance on Red Square?

I was bombarded with messages and emails. Everyone was happy for me and proud of me. After all, I lived all the time in military aviation camps with access control. First in the Far East, then in Monin, in the Moscow region. My father, Anatoly Ivanovich, is a long-range aviation navigator, now a retired colonel. Passed the career path from a cadet of a military aviation school to a professor at the Gagarin Air Force Academy. It was he who called me Olesya in honor of the heroine of the story by Alexander Kuprin. My elder brother Ruslan is a ground navigator. As a child, I wanted to become a military pilot. When I graduated from school, the DOSAAF system had already collapsed. But the dream of becoming an officer remained. At school, in the questionnaire, I honestly wrote about my dream of flying. My parents were called to the school for not taking the survey seriously. When in high school I began to fill out the educational file of a candidate for admission to a military university in the military registration and enlistment office, my teacher realized that I was not joking when I filled out the questionnaire.

Now the admission of girls to military universities is massive, but 23 years ago it was a curiosity. When my mother said that there is the only military university, the Military Academy of Economics, Finance and Law, where girls are accepted, I only asked: “What subjects should I take?” And she began to work hard in English. I practically learned the Constitution by heart. And yet she put on shoulder straps! She entered the military law faculty, where they trained lawyers with knowledge of a foreign language. Graduated from the Academy with honors. Later she was a legal adviser in the military unit, which was subordinate to the chemical troops, went to the courts.

The ceremonial calculation was very careful about its snow-white uniform.

- Was it difficult to work in a male team?

As a lieutenant, I felt some distrust and discontent on the part of the male officers. Every day I had to prove that I was in my place and I was not inferior to them at all. I remember that we had vocational training, we passed tests and standards. I knew all the statutes, the protection of state secrets, and at the shooting range I hit the targets better than some participants in the hostilities. Again, she put on and took off the OZK (combined arms protective kit) the fastest. In many respects, she turned out to be better than her male counterparts. And my attitude has changed.

Then I returned to my native Military University, where there was a legal service. At that time, there were no vacant positions, and I began to work in the training department. She passed all positions - from assistant to deputy head of the educational department.

Now, after 23 years of service, I have to prove something to a lesser extent. There are people around me who know me well in the service. Tasks are set, and they are always fulfilled in good faith.

My parents continue to live in the aviation town in Monin. Although now it is no longer a closed city and the Gagarin Air Force Academy is no longer there. After the Victory parade, when dad and mom walked around the city, acquaintances approached them and everyone considered it their duty to report that they had seen me on Red Square. Mom jokingly admitted: “I don’t know how I didn’t burst with pride.”

At school, guys and girls also ran up to their son and asked: “Did your mother go to the Victory Parade? Was that really her?" Egor is 10 years old. I do not insist that he become an officer. But after May 9, he told me: “Probably, I will still become a military man.”

- Are you so slender, fit, have you been doing sports all your life?

I don't have sports ranks. Moreover, as a child, I was plump. Mom gave me to ballet, and a few months later she was called and told that I was not suitable for these classes according to the constitution. Then, already in my teens, I stretched out a lot. Life in the military camp affected, where we as a family participated in all military sports festivals. And physical education lessons were held on the street all year round.

Now at the Military University we are tested for physical training four times a year. We hand over everything honestly, no one “draws” anything for us. We go in for sports both for ourselves, and also to be an example for female cadets. When they pass physical, I am not ashamed to say that in some aspects of preparation I am better.

- Never participated in beauty contests?

I didn't have the time or desire for it.

- Fallen popularity hinders or inspires?

To be honest, I don't feel any popularity. I am at work all day long, I have been known here for many years. When I come home, I try to spend more time with my son. On weekends, my friends and I take the children and go to an exhibition, to the theater or to the skating rink.

- Do you have time for hobbies?

I am actively involved in skiing and karting. We also love to sing as a family. My brother can immediately pick up any melody both on the guitar and on the piano, and now he even mastered the harmonica. I also graduated from music school. We sing even in the car when we go to the country. We also like to go to karaoke with friends.

Olesya Buka is a real colonel. And now it will go down in history. She became the first to lead a "women's battalion" across Red Square. The whole world saw that the Russian army is not only polite, but also beautiful!