On the 9th May 1945, the guns fell silent as the war in Europe came to an end. The Western Allies and the Soviet forces had crushed the German army and each year, Russia marks the event with a victory parade.
2010 is the 65th anniversary and this year’s parade in Moscow will be a bit different. Events started a few days earlier when 22 British veterans from the Arctic convoys were awarded medals by the Russian envoy to the UK, Yury Fedotov. The veterans had help run supplies to the northern russia Ukraine war Russian ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. In total, around 1,400 ships help keep the Soviet Union supplied.
As part of the Victory Parade, there will be a fly past of around 130 planes and helicopters from various periods of history. Over the years, Red Square has seen many parades designed to show off the might of the Soviet forces but this year, the parade will have a more international feel about it. Soldiers of the Welsh Regiment from the British Army, US 18th Infantry Regiment, pilots from the French Normandie-Nieman squadron and an honour guard from the Polish army will all parade along side army units from Russia and other CIS nations.