The parade of the Smolensk garrison dedicated to the 69th Anniversary of the Great Victory

The parade of the Smolensk garrison held on the main square of the regional center started the celebration of the 69th anniversary of the Great Victory. A column of 525 troops marched across Lenin Square.

The students of the Military Academy of the Air Defense of the Russian Federation Armed Forces named after the Soviet Union Marshal Vasilevsky, the military detachment "Mercury" of the Russian Interior Forces, the staff of the Head Department of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Smolensk region took part in the parade.

The students of the Cadet Corps named after Field-Marshal Kutuzov also participated in the parade and, of course, the veterans who, as in the old days, marched bravely past the admiring spectators. The former soldiers who liberated Smolensk and fought for Stalingrad, partisans and snipers, medical workers, workers of the rear - all those who gained the Victory in the Great Patriotic War - welcomed their countrymen.

Those veterans who could not march in one rank with their mates could watch the paraded rom the specially prepared spectator seats. The special applause greeted the veterans of the First Guards Tank Army, Missile Army, sailors, marines, border guards, pilots, railroad soldiers and soldiers-internationalists, veterans of the North Caucasus front.

Following the column of the Smolensk garrison, the military equipment such as antiaircraft rocket complexes "OSA" and antiaircraft machines ZU-23, legendary fighting guns ZIS-3 dated of 1942, armored cars "Tiger", BTR-80 and others passed through the square.

Colonel Boris Novikov was in command of the parade and the Chief of the Military Academy Gleb Eremin held the parade.

Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy addressed the Smolensk residents with the words of congratulations: "Dear veterans, dear soldiers, generals and officers, dear people of Smolensk! Today, on this special for all the Russians day, we remember with special gratitude those who lie in the graves. We gratefully bow to you, dear veterans. Because the tragic events in the fraternal Ukraine show us what terrible tragedy you saved us from almost 70 years ago. We bow to you for that". The march of the patriotic action "Immortal regiment” participants became an unforgettable part of the parade in Lenin Square.

The action dates back to 2012, when the residents of Tomsk marched with raised portraits of their relatives who took part in the War. A year later 200 cities of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine joint the action "The Immortal regiment". This year on Victory Day the people of Smolensk decided to honor the memory of those who took part in the Great Patriotic War in this way too.

Only in Smolensk thousands of people decided to join the column of the Regiment taking part in the parade. This action aimed to commemorate those terrible events deeply moved the spectators - neither veterans nor the younger generation could hold back their tears.