The 1990 Moscow Victory Day Parade was held on May 9, 1990 to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet Union in the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

. The parade was inspected by the USSR Minister of Defense

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Dmitry Yazov, and was commanded by the Commander of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

Colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

Nikolai Vasilyevich Kalinin.

Overview

12.5 thousand people and 429 units of equipment took part in the parade. It was the last parade in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

, dedicated to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. This is the first Victory Day parade which did not depict

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

's portrait on the Red Square and this practice continues to the present. This parade also featured a float featuring the Soldier-liberator Statue, the first-of-its-kind for a Soviet Victory Day Parade. On the eve of the parade, Gorbachev laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A small parade featuring the Waltham

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Band was also held on Red Square following the massive parade, becoming the first American Band to ever play in Moscow.

Full order of the marchpast

Military bands

* Massed Military Bands of the Moscow Military District

Ground column

* Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military Music College * Victory Banner Color Guard * Front Standards * Colour guard battalion of regimental, brigade and division colors of the Soviet Army * Veterans regiment ** Heroes of the Soviet Union ** Recipients of the Order of Glory ** Veteran participants of the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 ** Partisans ** Civil awardees of the

Order of Labour Glory The Order of Labour Glory (Russian: ''Орден Трудовой Славы'') was a Soviet civilian award created on 18 January 1974 by the decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Closely modelled on the Order of Glory, it was ...

* Historical regiment * M. V. Frunze Military Academy * V. I. Lenin Military Political Academy * Military Artillery Academy "Felix Dzerzhinsky" * Military Armored Forces Academy Marshal Rodion Malinovsky * Military Engineering Academy * Military Academy of Chemical Defense and Control * Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy * Professor Nikolai Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy * M. V. Frunze Naval College * Airborne Division * Moscow Border Guards Institute of the Border Defence Forces of the KGB "Moscow City Council" * OMSDON Ind. Motorized Division of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR "Felix Dzerzhinsky" * Suvorov Military School * Nakhimov Naval School * Moscow Military High Command Training School "Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR" During the transition period from the ground to mobile columns, 30 cadets from the Suvorov and Nakhimov schools marched to the grandstand to bring flowers to the Soviet leadership who attended.

Mobile Column

* Historical column **

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

SU-100 The SU-100 ( Russian: самоходная установка-100, СУ-100 romanized: '' Samokhodnaya Ustanovka-''100) is a Soviet tank destroyer armed with the D-10S 100 mm anti-tank gun in a casemate superstructure. It was used extens ...

** ZIL-157 ** ZIL-131 **

Katyusha rocket launcher The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area m ...

s **

BRDM-2 The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car designed and developed ...

* Modern column **

BTR-80 The BTR-80 () is an 8×8 wheeled Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first de ...

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle f theinfantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...

** BMP-3 ** BMD-1 **

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72 and changing the engine to a gas turbi ...

2S1 Gvozdika The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (, "Dianthus caryophyllus, Carnation") is a Soviet Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled howitzer introduced in 1972 and is in service in Russia and other countries . It is based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mount ...

2S3 Akatsiya The SO-152 (Russian: СО-152), usually known by its Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, GRAU designation 2S3 (), is a Soviet Union, Soviet 152.4 mm self-propelled gun developed in 1968, as a response to the American 155 mm M109 how ...

2S9 Nona The 2S9 ''NONA'' () is a self-propelled and air-droppable 120 mm mortar designed in the Soviet Union, which entered service in 1981. The 2S9 chassis is designated the S-120 and based on the aluminium hull of the BTR-D airborne multi-purpose ...

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...

** BM-27 Uragan ** 2A36 Giatsint-B ** 9K35 Strela-10 **

9K33 Osa The 9K33 ''Osa'' (; English: "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 ''Gecko'') is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version nam ...

S-300 missile system The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union. It was produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces to defend against air raids and cruise ...

OTR-21 Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' () is a Soviet Union, Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU designation is 9K79. Its NATO reporting name is the SS-21 Scarab. One missile is transported per 9P129 vehicle and raised prior to launch. It uses an inertial gu ...

9K52 Luna-M The 9K52 ''Luna-M'' (, ; NATO reporting name: Frog-7) is a USSR, Soviet short-range artillery rocket system which fires unguided and Spin-stabilisation, spin-stabilized 9M21 rockets. It was originally developed in the 1960s to provide Division (m ...

** R-17 Elbrus

Music

The military band of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union was commanded by Major General Nikolay Mikhailov. ; Inspection and address * '' Jubilee Slow March "25 Years of the Red Army"'' (Юбилейный встречный марш "25 лет РККА) by Semyon Tchernetsky * ''Slow March of the Tankmen'' (Встречный Марш Танкистов) by Semeon Tchenertsky * ''Slow March of the Guards of the Navy'' (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich * ''March of the Life Guards Sapper Rifle Battalion'' * ''

March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment The March of the Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment () is one of the most famous Russian military marches. The Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment was one of the oldest and most elite Imperial Guard (Russia), guard regiments of the Imperial Russ ...

'' (Марш Преображенского Полка) * ''Slow March of the Officers Schools'' (Встречный Марш офицерских училищ) by Semyon Tchernetsky * ''Slow March'' (Встречный Марш) by Dmitry Pertsev * ''Slow March of the Red Army'' (Встречный Марш Красной Армии) by Semyon Tchernetsky * ''Slow March Victory'' (Встречный Марш «Победа») by Yuriy Griboyedov * ''Slow March'' (Встречный Марш) by Severian Ganichev * ''Slow March of the Guards of the Navy'' (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich * ''Slow March'' (Встречный Марш) by Viktor Sergeyebich Runov * '' Glory'' (Славься) by

Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, links=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, mʲɪxɐˈil ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognit ...

* ''Moscow Parade Fanfare'' (Московская Парадная Фанфара) by Unknown * ''

State Anthem of the Soviet Union The State Anthem of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was the national anthem of the Soviet Union and the regional anthem of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1944 to 1991, replacing "The Internationale". Its original ...

'' (Государственный гимн Советского Союза) by Alexander Alexandrov * ''Fanfare'' (Фанфара) ; Infantry Column * '' Long Live Our State'' (Да здравствует наша держава) by Boris Alexandrov * " The Sacred War" (Священная война) by Alexander Alexandrov * '' Farewell of Slavianka'' (Прощание Славянки) by Vasiliy Agapkin * ''We Need One Victory'' (Нам Нужна Одна Победа) by Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava * ''

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

'' (День Победы) by David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov * ''March Victory'' (Марш Победа) by Albert Mikhailovich Arutyunov * ''In Defense of the Homeland'' (В защиту Родины) by Viktor Sergeyevich Runov * ''On Guard for the Peace'' (На страже Мира) by Boris Alexandrovich Diev * ''Combat March'' (Строевой Марш) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev * ''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 * ''

'' (День Победы) by David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov * ''Long Live our State'' (Да здравствует наша держава) by Boris Alexandrov ; Mobile Column and Conclusion * '' My Dear Capital/My Moscow'' (Дорогая Моя Столица/Моя Москва) by Isaac Dunayevsky * ''We Need One Victory'' (Нам Нужна Одна Победа) by Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava * ''Salute to Moscow'' (Салют Москвы) by Semyon Tchernetsky * ''March of the Tankmen'' (Марш Танкистов) by Semyon Tchernetsky * '' Song of the Soviet Army'' (Песня о Советской Армии) by Alexander Alexandrov

Other parades held in other cities

For many republics, this was the last parade held before the independence day of their republic. Among these was the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

, whose parade of the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

took place on the bank of the

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, being received by Colonel General Fyodor Kuzmin, the commander of the district's troops. Parades were also held in cities such as

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

(

Belarusian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

) and

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

).http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/129966/07-Pastushenko.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1&ved=2ahUKEwi2jInx2LTqAhVZbc0KHTnVDOcQFjASegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw1LnSbudW6-iFq3VKAw9gWn

References

{{Moscow Victory Parade, state=expanded 1990 in the Soviet Union 1990 in military history May 1990 in Russia Moscow Victory Day Parades