The 1989 October Revolution Parade was a parade that 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 7 November 1989 to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the socialist revolution in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1917.

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

(the

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissoluti ...

) and the Soviet leadership watched the parade from

Lenin's Mausoleum Lenin's Mausoleum, also known as Lenin's Tomb, is a mausoleum located at Red Square in Moscow, Russia. It serves as the resting place of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, whose preserved body has been on public display since shortly after his death ...

General of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

and

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 ...

Dmitry Yazov Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov (; 8 November 1924 – 25 February 2020) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, Yazov served as Minister of Defence from 1987 until he was arrested for his part in the 1991 August cou ...

made his third holiday address to the nation after he inspected seven sets of armed battalions and academies. Col. Gen. Nikolai Kalinin the head 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 ...

was the 1989 parade commander.

Context

The parade was one of the last traditional October Revolution

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

in the USSR's existence. Two days after the parade, the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

fell. This would be the last time that Gorbachev would be at the parade in the capacity of General Secretary. Other guests included

Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov (; ; 28 September 1929 – 28 February 2024) was a Russian politician. He served as the last Premier of the Soviet Union, chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 and was succeeded b ...

(the

Premier of the Soviet Union The Premier of the Soviet Union () was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). From 1923 to 1946, the name of the office was Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and from 1946 to 1991 its name was ...

) and political prisoner Yuri Fidelgolts. Defense Minister Yazov spoke from the rostrum of the mausoleum about the priority of "universal human interest" and "the unilateral reduction of armaments". International observers noticed the absence of missiles from the

Strategic Missile Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; ) is a separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinental ballistic miss ...

. After the mobile column segment, Massed bands of the Moscow Military District under Major General Nikolai Mikhailov performed an

exhibition drill Exhibition drill is a variant of drill that involves complex marching sequences which usually deviate from drill used in the course of ordinary parades. Teams performing exhibition drill are often affiliated with military units, but the scope of ...

before they marched off Red Square. After the parade, demonstrations of workers from various Soviet jobs and a parade of Soviet peoples and athletes took place through Red Square.

Parade order

Ground column

* Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military Music School (drummers march to 120 beats per minute) * M. V. Frunze Military Academy * Felix Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy * Military Armored Forces Academy Marshal Rodion Malinovskovy * Yuri

Gagarin Air Force Academy Gagarin Air Force Academy () is a Russian military aviation academy located in Monino, Moscow Oblast. The academy prepares high-ranking military personnel for the Russian Aerospace Forces. Among the academy alumni are around 700 Heroes of th ...

* Prof. Nikolai Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy * M. V. Frunze Naval College * 98th Guards Airborne Division * Moscow Border Guards Institute of the Border Defence Forces of the KGB "Moscow City Council" *

336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade The 336th Separate Guards Bialystok Orders of Zhukov, Suvorov and Alexander Nevsky Naval Infantry Brigade (; Military Unit Number 06017) is a brigade of the Russian Naval Infantry, formerly part of the Soviet Naval Infantry. History World ...

OMSDON The Separate Operational Purpose Division (ODON; ), formerly called OMSDON (a.k.a. ''Felix Dzerzhinsky, Dzerzhinsky Division''), is a rapid deployment internal security Division (army), division of the Internal Troops of the Soviet Union, Int ...

Division of the Internal Troops *

Suvorov Military School The Suvorov Military Schools () are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on military related subjects. The schools are named after Alexander ...

Nakhimov Naval School The Nakhimov Naval School () or Nakhimov School () is a form of military education for teenagers introduced in the Soviet Union and once also located in other cities. They are named after well-known Russian admiral Pavel Nakhimov. History The f ...

* Moscow Military High Command Training School "Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR"

Mobile column

2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division The 2nd Guards Mikhail Kalinin, M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division is a Russian Guards, Guards Mechanized infantry, mechanised infantry Division (military), division of the Russian Ground Forces. Its Military Unit Number is 23626. The 2nd ...

* Airborne Forces *

4th Guards Tank Division The 4th Guards Tank Division is a Russian Guards, Guards armoured division of the Russian Ground Forces. The division is named after Yuri Andropov. The division has the Military Unit Number 19612 and is one of the key formations of the Moscow Mil ...

* Rocket Complexes of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

Other parades in Soviet cities

Revolution Day Revolution Day or the Day of the Revolution refers to public holidays or remembrance days in various countries held in commemoration of an important event in the country's history, usually the starting point or a turning point in a revolution that ...

parades and celebrations were also held in many Soviet cities such as

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Palace Square Palace Square ( rus, Дворцо́вая пло́щадь, r=Dvortsovaya Ploshchad, p=dvɐrˈtsovəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersb ...

. In Leningrad, a 30,000-strong column of opposition forces, took part in a general demonstration under the slogan, "November 7 - the day of national tragedy" and "We will strike with perestroika on communism". The local

Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...

cut off some of the participants, kept them cordoned off for half an hour, avoiding a potential breakout of violence. The capitals of

Soviet republics In the Soviet Union, a Union Republic () or unofficially a Republic of the USSR was a constituent federated political entity with a system of government called a Soviet republic, which was officially defined in the 1977 constitution as " ...

also held their own parades: *

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic or Moldavian SSR (, mo-Cyrl, Република Советикэ Сочиалистэ Молдовеняскэ), also known as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan SSR, Soviet Moldavia, Sovie ...

, Victory Square *

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 ...

, Lenin Square *

Kiev 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. ...

, Kreshchatyk Street *

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbek SSR The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (, ), also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist P ...

, Lenin Square *

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

Gediminas Avenue Gediminas Avenue () is the main street of Vilnius, where most of the governmental institutions of Lithuania are concentrated, including the government, parliament, Constitutional Court and ministries. It is also the location of cultural institu ...

The Government of the

Armenian SSR The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia bordered the Soviet republics ...

cancelled the parade in on Lenin Square in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

due to protest, officially ending the republic's tradition of military parades. In the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

, the parade was cancelled in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

in the face of protests from the National Independence Party. On the morning of 7 November, a group of 100 people took candles and stood in front of tanks preparing for the parade in Kishinev. Once supporters of the

Popular Front of Moldova The Popular Front of Moldova (PFM; , FPM) was a political movement in the Moldavian SSR, one of the 15 union republics of the former Soviet Union, and in the newly independent Moldova, Republic of Moldova. Formally, the Front existed from 1989 to ...

arrived at Victory Square, the leaders of

Communist Party of Moldova The Communist Party of Moldavia (, PCM, Moldovan Cyrillic: ; ) was the ruling and sole legal political party of the Moldavian SSR. It was one of the fifteen republic-level parties that formed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) until ...

left the central stage immediately, with the mobile column of the parade being cancelled.file:///C:/Users/glaws_000/Downloads/Musteata%20Euxeinos%2015%2016_2014.pdf Protesters in Vilnius blocked the tanks rolling through the central avenue, shortly delaying the mobile column, however the parade continued as planned.

References

{{Annual Great October Socialist Revolution Parade 1989 in Russia October Revolution parades November 1989 in the Soviet Union 1989 in Moscow