The 2005 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

which took place in

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 ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on 9 May 2005 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The parade was inspected by the

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

Sergei Ivanov and it was commanded by Moscow Military District Commander

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Ivan Efremov. Music was performed by the Massed Bands of the Moscow Garrison directed by Colonel

Valery Khalilov Valery Mikhaylovich Khalilov (; 30 January 1952 – 25 December 2016) was an Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he was the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Servi ...

on his 3rd national parade, the first to include 4 international marching bands. After the inspection of the troops,

President of the Russian Federation The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

gave his 6th-holiday address to the nation. More than 150 foreign dignitaries (included 50 heads of state) were presented. Among them were

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Jose Manuel Barroso,

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Director General Koichiro Matsuura, President of the

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, President of the

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, Japanese Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi, French President

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Gerhard Schroeder, President of Kazakhstan

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and President of

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. It was the largest parade in the history of Russia, and one of the largest in the world's history.

Parade

This was the last time veterans took part directly as participants. This time through, reenacting the motorized infantry of the original 1945 parade mobile column, many veterans of the fronts rode in the very trucks which carried infantry to the front lines of the war, arranged accordingly by the fronts they took part at war's end. Veterans from nations such as

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and

took part in the parade alongside their Russian counterparts.

Troops participating in the parade

Following the parade commander's car the parade marched past the saluting grandstand in the following order, * Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military Music School * Color Guard of the Victory Banner, the

Flag of Russia The national flag of the Russia, Russian Federation (, ) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal bands: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The design was first introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1693, and in 1705 ...

, and the Armed Forces Colour from the 1st Honor Guard Battalion of the 154th Independent Commandant's Regiment * Historical Unit ** Infantry of the Red Army ** Tank forces ** Artillery ** Engineering formations ** Reconnaissance and commando formations ** K-9 units of

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

** Soviet Air Force **

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

** 1st Cavalry Squadron, Presidential Cavalry Escort Battalion,

Kremlin Regiment The Kremlin Regiment (), also called the Presidential Regiment (), is a unique military regiment and part of the Russian Federal Protective Service (Russia), Federal Protective Service with the status of a special unit. The regiment ensures the s ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

Veterans in military trucks, arranged in the fronts in order of the 1945 Victory Parade ** Karelian ** Leningrad ** 1st Baltic ** 3rd Belorussian ** 2nd Belorussian ** 1st Belorussian ** 1st Ukrainian ** 2nd Ukrainian ** 3rd Ukrainian ** 4th Ukrainian * Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation * Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces * Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation * Military Engineering Academy * Military University of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense named after Marshal Timoshenko * Gagarin Air Force Academy * Military Aviation Technical University named after NE Zhukovsky * Baltic Naval Institute * Civil Defence Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situation * Moscow Military Institute of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation * Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School * 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, 98th Guards Airborne Division * Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia * 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the Baltic Fleet * Suvorov Military School * Nakhimov Naval School * Moscow Higher Military Command School

Music

The music and marches were played by the Military Band of the Armed Forces of Russia under the direction of Colonel

; Inspection and address * '' March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment'' (Марш Преображенского Полка) * ''Slow March of the Tankmen'' (Встречный Марш Танкистов) by Semyon Tchernetsky * ''Slow March to Carry the War Flag'' (Встречный Марш для выноса Боевого Знамени) by Dmitriy Valentinovich Kadeyev * ''Slow March of the Guards of the Navy'' (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich * ''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 * ''March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment'' (Марш Преображенского Полка) * ''Glory'' (Славься) by Mikhail Glinka * Parade Fanfare ''All Listen!'' (Парадная Фанфара «Слушайте все!») by Andrei Golovin * '' National Anthem of the Russian Federation'' (Государственный Гимн Российской Федерации) by Alexander Alexandrov * Signal ''Retreat'' (Сигнал «Отбой») ; Veteran and mobile column * March ''General Miloradovich'' (Марш Генерал Милорадович) by Valery Khalilov * '' Farewell of Slavianka'' (Прощание Славянки) by Vasiliy Agapkin * ''Defenders of Moscow'' (Защитников Москвы) by Boris Alexandrovich Mokroysov * ''Artillery March'' (Марш Артиллеристов) by Tikhon Khrennikov * ''

Katyusha Katyusha () is a diminutive of the Russian name Ekaterina or Yekaterina, the Russian form of Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in c ...

'' (Катюша) by Matvey Blanter * ''Ballad of a Soldier'' (Баллада о Солдате) by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy * '' Sacred War'' (Священная Война) by Alexandr Alexandrov * ''March The track to the frontline/The Song of the frontline driver'' (Марш «Дорожка фронтовая»/Песенка фронтового шофёра) by Boris Andreyevich Mokrousov * March ''Victory'' (Марш Победа) by Albert Mikhailovich Arutyunov * ''Lefort's March'' (Лефортовский Марш) by Valery Khalilov * ''On Guard for the Peace'' (На страже Мира) by Boris Alexandrovich Diev * ''Combat March'' (Строевой Марш) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev * '' Air March'' (Авиамарш) by Yuliy Abramovich Khait * ''March of the Cosmonauts/Friends, I believe'' (Марш Космонавтов /Я верю, друзья) by Oskar Borisovich Feltsman * March ''Farewell, rocky mountains'' (Марш/Песня «Прощайте, скалистые горы») by Evgeny Emmanuilovich Zharkovsky * ''Crew is One Family'' (Экипаж - одна семья) by Viktor Vasilyevich Pleshak * ''We are the Army of the People'' (Мы Армия Народа) by Georgy Viktorovich Mavsesya * ''We Need One Victory'' (Нам Нужна Одна Победа) by Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava * ''Glory to the Heroes'' (Слава героям) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev * ''

On the Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagoni ...

'' (В Путь) by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy * ''In Defense of the Homeland'' (В защиту Родины) by Viktor Sergeyevich Runov ; Conclusion * '' Victory Day'' (День Победы) by David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov * '' Song of the Russian Army'' (Песня о Российской Армии) by Alexandr Alexandrov

Dignitaries in attendance

The Victory Day parade drew many international statesman to the Russian capital in the days leading up to 9 May. According to the Russian government, top leaders from 56 countries were invited to join Putin in the 2005 parade. In total, about 150 countries were represented at the parade. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in Russian history. The parade was the first one to be attended by world leaders since the 1995 parade (which attracts 57 countries). Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder brought with him a group of

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

veterans, whom Vladimir Putin personally approached after a military parade on Red Square. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also arrived with Italian veterans.

Cancelled attendees

President of Georgia The president of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, tr) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U ...

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

, as well as two Presidents of Baltic nations, did not attend despite being invited. Saakashvili justified his refusal to attend by saying that "there was nothing much to celebrate in Moscow", instead hosting a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Tbilisi, and hosting President Bush in the Georgian capital the following day. Lithuanian President

Valdas Adamkus Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; November 3, 1926) is a Lithuanian politician, diplomat and civil engineer who served as the fifth and seventh president of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009. Adamku ...

and Estonian President Arnold Rüütel jointly announced their non-participation in the parade on 7 March. They were all represented by lower-level politicians. In addition to that, a number of ambassadors and war veterans were presented as private attendees. British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

was unable to attend due to an emergency engagement followed the

2005 United Kingdom general election The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect List of MPs elected in the 2005 United Kingdom general election, 646 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The governing Labo ...

. Belarusian President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

was also invited, however instead chose to preside over the Victory Day Parade on Minsk's

Victors Avenue Victors Avenue (, ) is a public avenue in Minsk, Belarus. History Until 1980, it was called the Park Highway. For a long time, the northwest center of Minsk along the right bank of the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach tributary of the river Berezin ...

Gallery

File:Victory Day Parade 2005-8.jpg, WW2 Veterans of the Soviet Union on Parade File:Victory Day Parade 2005-6.jpg, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin's Victory Day Parade speech File:Sergei Ivanov g8o2613-398h.jpg, Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov File:Victory Day Parade 2005-16.jpg, Veterans of the War. File:Victory Day Parade 2005-17.jpg, Heads of state (from left to right) : Jacques Chirac, Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush. File:Victory Day Parade 2005-1.jpg, File:Victory Day Parade 2005-4.jpg, File:Victory Day Parade 2005-3.jpg, File:Victory Day Parade 2005-14.jpg, File:Victory Day Parade 2005-10.jpg,

References

External links

HD Russian Army Parade, Victory Day 2005 Парад Победы
{{Moscow Victory Parade, state=expanded Moscow Victory Day Parades 2005 in Russia 2005 in military history May 2005 in Russia 2005 in Moscow