Victory Day – May 9 – just came and went. As always it was a huge and proud holiday across Russia and in many other former Soviet republics such as Muslim Kazakhstan: But throughout Europe and North America – silence.
With every year World War II loses more and more of its witnesses who actually lived through it. Within our lifetimes this conflict will become something akin to the American Civil War, a conflict of great importance to many that has become abstract and distant from our reality. The problem with this is that the battle for the meaning of the greatest conflict in human history will now continue on the movie theatre, mainstream media and social network fronts.
News of the recent attendance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Moscow’s 9th May Victory Day Parade provoked a predictable range of reactions ranging from anger, dismay, denial and – on the part of some of the US’s and Israel’s friends – even a certain amount of gloating.
For an example of the latter, see for example these words by the British historian Niall Ferguson in a lengthy article hailing Donald Trump’s supposed masterstroke in pulling out of the JCPOA.
On May 9th, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and some other states celebrated Victory Day, a monument to the destruction of Nazism by the people of the USSR together with those in Europe.
Victory Day is a day to celebrate the annihilation of Nazism from the face of Europa. We look towards the bright future, but we cannot forget our past, lest we repeat it. In Ukraine, however, for the past four years, we have seen the dark clouds of neo-Nazism overcast.
There is nothing more cool that to watch military hardware on display.
Especially when it is flying military hardware in the air.
As preparations for the Russian Federation’s 2018 Victory Day are in progress, rehearsals of the parade flybys are in progress. This lucky cameraman got quite the eyeful of the best of the Russian military hardware in flight right over his location. We even get to see the new Su-57 fifth generation fighters in flight.
While the fascist Kiev regime threatened terrorist attacks against the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics on Victory Day, The two Donbass Republics celebrated Victory Day in peace and with dignity.
READ MORE: Victory Day in Donbass
The same cannot be said of Kiev controlled regions. In spite of Victory Day being an ‘event non-grata’ in post-coup Ukraine, many ordinary people still felt the desire and the need to honour the veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
President Putin has spoken during Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.
His message on Victory Day sent a poignant message at a time when Russians throughout the world are once again under attack.
President Putin stated,
As we await the big parade in Moscow, here is footage of parades and Immortal Regiment marches throughout Russia.
Sevastopol
Khabarovsk
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Vladivostok
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in Sakhalin island
Blagoveshchensk
#Барнаул#ДеньПобеды# pic.twitter.com/z8aR8hJMZJ
— Больше чем новости (@newsamic) May 9, 2017
We are deeply honoured to present the first ever Digital Immortal Regiment.
Today, millions around the world will be marching with photos of loved ones and comrades who fought in the Great Patriotic War/Second World War.
We asked our readers to submit photos for a Digital Immortal Regiment made up of not only Soviet veterans but of veterans from every allied force. Our Digital Immortal Regiment includes veterans from the Soviet Union, United States, Yugoslavia, Greece, Britain, Australia and beyond.
