The Great Victory Parade in the Hero-City of Smolensk

Smolensk, May 9th, the Victory Parade took place in Smolensk. It was opened by the young drummers of the cadet corps. In total, over 1,5 thousand people marched along Lenin Square.

Among them there were both soldiers and officers who have more than once risked their lives when performing combat missions in the “hot spots”, and those who have yet to comprehend military science.

Among the participants of the Parade there were the servicemen of the 144^th Motorized Rifle Vilna Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Division, of the 29^th separate railway Warsaw, Order of Kutuzov and Red Star Brigade, of the 49^th anti-aircraft missile brigade of the 1^st Guards Red Banner Tank Army, of the 25^th  Special Forces Detachment of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation "Mercury", of the Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky Military Academy of Air Defense Forces, of the regional Directorate of the Federal Service of Implementing Punishment (UFSIN) of Russia, of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia and the Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, representatives of the Directorate of the Federal Bailiffs Service of Russia (UFSSP), cadets of the Smolensk Field Marshal Kutuzov of the Cadet Corps, activists of YUNARMIA.

Following the walking column of the units of the Smolensk garrison, 29 pieces of equipment passed along the square: BTR-80 and BTR-82 armored personnel carriers, KAMAZ trucks with ZU-23 rapid-fire guns and sets of “Igla” portable air defense systems, "Osa-AKM” air defense missile systems, “Tornado” multiple rocket launchers, as well as ZIS-3 divisional guns from the Great Patriotic War (model of the year of 1942).

The veterans who watched the parade from the stands were the main spectators of the event. Before the parade, Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy greeted and spoke with those of them who were sitting in the stands and later addressed them with words of appreciation:

“Dear veterans! Please, accept the words of boundless gratitude for your human and military feat. Grateful descendants honor sacredly and will always remember your courage and bravery. We bow to the front-line heroes, home front workers, prisoners of fascist concentration camps and the generation of children of war, to all those who stood firm and crushed the perfidious enemy, giving us the happiness of living in a free and peaceful country. May the sky over our beloved Russia always be clear and peaceful!”

Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy also congratulated all the Smolensk residents on Victory Day. Together with all those present, he honored the memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War with a moment of silence.

After the parade, a column of the Immortal Regiment passed through the central streets of Smolensk.