1995 Moscow Victory Day Parades

Victory day parades
General of the Army Vladimir Govorov, and Marshal Victor Kulikov inspecting the parade.

The 1995 Moscow Victory Day Parades (Russian: Парад Победы, tr. Parad Pobedy) were two military parades held on 9 May 1995 to commemorate the historic 50th anniversary golden jubilee of the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in 1945. The parades marked the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War.[1] These were the first post-Soviet military parades held in Russia the first one being in held for veterans on Red Square at 8:00 in the morning followed by another parade of infantry and military equipment at Poklonnaya Hill at 3:00 in the afternoon.

Poklonnaya Hill Parade

The Poklonnaya Parade was the first parade in the post-Soviet era and the only one in the Yeltsin era to feature military hardware, which would not be displayed again until 2008.

The parade was observed by Russian leaders and foreign dignitaries from a provisional facade. Major political figures attending were President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, First Lady Naina Yeltsina, and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. The parade was inspected by Minister of Defence General of the Army Pavel Grachev, who later made the keynote address (the last time that the Minister of Defense made such an address on a national parade) and commanded by Moscow Military District Commander Colonel General Leonid Kuznetsov. It was on that very parade where Russian soldiers paraded with new post-Soviet military uniforms. It was the first time since 1957 that aviation took part in the parade.[2]

Among the new additions that debuted were the BMP-3, BMD-3, S-300 missile system, BM-30 Smerch and the 2S19 Msta SPG.

Full order of the parade in the Poklonnaya Hill complex

  • General of the Army Pavel Grachev (parade reviewing inspector)
  • Colonel General Leonid Kuznetsov (parade commander)

Military bands

  • Massed Military Bands of the Moscow Military District

Ground column

Red Square Parade

The Red Square Parade was another parade held in post-Soviet and in the Yeltsin era but did not feature military hardware, which would not be displayed again until 2008. This parade would feature all surviving veterans from all fronts marching past Red Square. The parade was observed by Russian leaders from Lenin's Mausoleum and more than 50 world leaders, most notably United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, President Jacques Santer, United States President Bill Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, British Prime Minister John Major, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Major political figures attending were President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. The parade was inspected by retired Marshal of the Soviet Union Viktor Kulikov and commanded by retired General of the Army Vladimir Govorov. In this parade, Russian President Boris Yeltsin delivered his first Victory Day address. This parade was also the only to feature and show the Iberian Gate and Chapel under construction on Red Square, which was later finished the following year. Among the notable veteran participants was pilot Stepan Borozenets.

Full order of the parade on Red Square

Military bands

  • Massed Military Bands of the Moscow Military District

Ground column

Dignitaries in Attendance

In March 1995, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry announced a state visit by President Bill Clinton to Russia on 9 and 10 May to attend the celebrations as well as another visit to Ukraine on 11 May.[3] One of the largest gathering of world leaders in Russian history, the 1995 parade was attended by a total of 56 foreign heads of state and government, along with 6 multilateral leaders.[4][5]

Also present were plenty of Foreign Diplomats and representatives of all Second World War veterans from the European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operations.

Music

Music for Red Square parade

Review and Address
  • Jubilee Slow March "25 Years of the Red Army" (Юбилейный встречный марш "25 лет РККА) by Semeon Tchernetsky
  • Slow March of the Officers Schools (Встречный Марш офицерских училищ) by Semyon Tchernetsky)
  • March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (Марш Преображенского Полка)
  • Slow March of the Guards of the Navy (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich
  • Glory (Славься) by Mikhail Glinka
  • Parade Fanfare May 9 (Парадная Фанфара “9 Мая”) by Nikolai Camokhvalov
  • State Anthem of the Russian Federation (Patriotic Song) – Государственный Гимн Российской Федерации (Патриотическая Песня) by Mikhail Glinka
  • Fanfare
Veteran and Infantry Column
  • We are the Army of the People (Мы Армия Народа) by Georgy Viktorovich Mavsesyan
  • Sacred War (Священная война) by Alexander Alexanderov
  • Farewell of Slavianka (Прощание Славянки) by Vasiliy Agapkin
  • March Victory (Марш “Победа”) by Albert Mikhailovich Arutyunov
  • March from the theme of the song On an Unknown Hill (Марш на темы песни “На безымянной высоте”)
  • In the Dugout (В землянке) by Alexei Surkov
  • We Need One Victory (Нам Нужна Одна Победа) by Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava
  • In Defense of the Homeland (В защиту Родины) by Viktor Sergeyevich Runov
  • On Guard for the Peace (На страже Мира) by Boris Alexanderovich Diev
  • Combat March (Строевой Марш) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev
  • On the Road (В Путь) by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy
Conclusion
  • Bow to those Great Years (Поклонимся Великим Тем Годам) by Iosif Kobzon
  • 1812 Overture Finale (Soviet version) by Tchaikovsky
  • Victory Day (День Победы) by David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov

Music for Poklonnaya Hill parade

Review and Address
  • Jubilee Slow March "25 Years of the Red Army" (Юбилейный встречный марш "25 лет РККА) by Semeon Tchernetsky
  • Slow March of the Officers Schools (Встречный Марш офицерских училищ) by Semyon Tchernetsky
  • Slow March of the Tankmen (Встречный Марш Танкистов) by Semyon Tchernetsky
  • Slow March of the Guards of the Navy (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich
  • March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (Марш Преображенского Полка) by Unknown
  • Slow March of the Officers Schools (Встречный Марш офицерских училищ) by Semyon Tchernetsky
  • Slow March of the Guards of the Navy (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich
  • Slow March (Встречный Марш) by Dmitry Pertsev
  • Slow March of the Red Army (Встречный Марш Красной Армии) by Semyon Tchernetsky
  • Glory (Славься) by Mikhail Glinka
  • Parade Fanfare May 9 (Парадная Фанфара “9 Мая”) by Nikolai Camokhvalov
  • State Anthem of the Russian Federation (Patriotic Song) – Государственный Гимн Российской Федерации (Патриотическая Песня) by Mikhail Glinka
  • Fanfare
Infantry Column
  • Victory Day (День Победы) by David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov
  • Farewell of Slavianka (Прощание Славянки) by Vasiliy Agapkin
  • In Defense of the Homeland (В защиту Родины) by Viktor Sergeyevich Runov
  • On Guard for the Peace (На страже Мира) by Boris Alexanderovich Diev
  • Combat March (Строевой Марш) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev
  • Air March (Авиамарш) by Yuliy Abramovich Khait
  • Leningrad (Ленинград) by Viktor Sergeyeich Runov
  • We are the Army of the People (Мы Армия Народа) by Georgy Viktorovich Mavsesyan
  • Sports March (Спортивный Марш) by Valentin Volkov
  • On the Road (В Путь) by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy
Air Column
  • Air March (Авиамарш) by Yuliy Abramovich Khait
  • Legendary Sevastopol (Легендарный Севастополь) by Bano Muradeli
Vehicle Column
  • Victorious March (Победный Марш) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich
  • Salute to Moscow (Салют Москвы) by Semyon Tchernetsky
  • My Dear Capital/My Moscow (Дорогая Моя Столица/Моя Москва) by Isaac Dunayevsky

References

  1. ^ "On May 9, 1995, the historic Victory Parade in 1945 was reproduced on Red Square".
  2. ^ "For the first time since 1957, aviation was participating in the parade, including the strategic bombers Tu-95 and Tu-160 (in 1958-1994 air parades were not conducted on any of the state holidays of the USSR and the Russian Federation over Red Square)".
  3. ^ "White House Daily Briefing | C-SPAN.org".
  4. ^ "Незваные гости: почему на 9 Мая приглашают не всех". 9 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Иностранные делегации на юбилеях Победы в Москве".
  6. ^ "Remarks at a State Dinner in Moscow | the American Presidency Project".
  7. ^ Yang, Daqing; Mochizuki, Mike (11 April 2018). Memory, Identity, and Commemorations of World War II: Anniversary Politics in Asia Pacific. ISBN 9781498567701.
  8. ^ "Россия - Монголия: по пути стратегического партнерства". Вестник Российского Университета Дружбы Народов. Серия: История России. 16 (3): 462–476. 2017.
  9. ^ "Written interview of the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee by Itar Tass news agency on the eve of his visit to Russia".

External links

Watch parade scenes here:

  • [1]
  • [2]
  • The Russian evening newscast featuring the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of V-E Day in Russia on C-SPAN
  • v
  • t
  • e
By year
Medal «For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945»
Participating units
and prominent parts
of the parade
Related
Part of