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09/05/2007 |
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Victory Day for the Great Patriotic War May Day
. In the name of socialism, towns and cities continue to have the traditional May Day parades. The holiday spirit is in the air. Comrades from the workplace continue to meet and walk in the parade. In Moscow the parades converge upon Red Square and the area outside the Kremlin.
These women were having a "very spirited" discussion about some topic. They appeared to be nice women with a smile on the face but at times it appeared that a wrestling arena is where the discussion would finally end. I was told by a person who could read the demonstration/ parade signs that many people were still opposed to Mr. Yeltsin. Some signs suggested that Mr. Yeltsin should be arrested, tried and sent to a work camp. It was interesting to know that the people could be so open about their feelings of the previous regime.
It appeared from seeing the old Soviet flag
Victory Day Celebrations
May 9 - Victory Day in Russia, a national holiday which remembers the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II and honors 20 million Soviets who died in the war. It seems today that Victory Day in Russia is a bigger day than the traditional May Day celebrations. To celebrate Victory Day the President of Russia sends congratulating letters to all the veterans. There are parades, feasts, presents and flowers to give thanks to the people who fought for the defense of Russia
Every Russian household will mark Victory Day and every Russian family because in fact every Russian family knows about the war not just from other people's stories and not only from books or films - in reality, every Russian family knows about the war because their next of kin, their friends and acquaintances were affected, because the 1941-1945 war came to every Russian family, to every family in the former Soviet Union. More Russians died storming Berlin at the end of the war than the entire U.S. combat dead in the European Theater of Operations from D-Day to victory.
As Goble observed, Russians had not fought for Stalin or
communism, "They had fought for Russia and themselves. And
because they could do so then, celebrations now suggest, they
may be able to do so again." "We all have the same memories of the battles which led to victory, and the joy of victory. Together we defended peace, foiled attempts to redraw history, saved our vast Soviet Motherland, preserved our country's independence and made the decisive contribution to the victory over fascism," he [Puntin] said. This explains the importance of Victory Day
to the people of Russia and
In Moscow survivors of the Great Patriotic War will gather in groups. All will arrive with a variety of military medals gained during the war. Those that remain will gather for a light lunch and drink to those comrades that did not survive the war as well as those who have died since the last Victory Day celebration.
Comrades of Another Time
A touching scene--a four year old boy gives a flower to participants of the Great Patriotic War.
A time to remember.....
Red Square and the Kremlin are behind the buildings shown above.
Sunday. 18 April 2004. Not a cloud in the sky. Warm in Moscow for April. Red Square seems to be deserted. Over several hundred years, how many people have walked on the cobble stones? How many tons of military ordinance has passed over the ancient stones? How much fear was invoked in the hearts of people the world over when they saw the power of the 2nd most powerful nation in the world. How quiet it is now.... |
that there seemed to be several groups participating in the
May Day parade. One group was the older people who had
marched on the worker solidarity day for forty years.
Another group consisted of those people who seemed to want to
revert back to the good days of the socialist government.
The third group were those people who see a revitalization of
of the country with a semi-market economy.
