Russia bares teeth in Victory parade

By Vladimir Isachenkov and Michael Stott 10 May 2009 ROWS of missiles and tanks rolled through Moscows Red Square and dozens of combat jets roared overhead in a Victory Day parade yesterday, the largest show of Russias military might in its post-Soviet history. Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russias most important secular holiday, and the parade reflected the Kremlins efforts to revive the nations armed forces and global clout. In a speech opening the parade, President Dmitry Medvedev said the nations armed forces are ready to give adequate response to any aggression. Medvedev didnt specifically mention Russias war with neighbouring ex-Soviet republic Georgia in August, but alluded to it when he said that even today there are those who engage in military adventurism. From a dais in front of Lenins Tomb in Red Square, he said: Defence of our homeland is our holy duty… We are sure that any aggression against our citizens will be decisively rebuffed. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sat next to Medvedev but did not speak. Russia says it was forced to defend its peacekeeping troops and citizens in rebel South Ossetia when Tbilisi tried to seize the pro-Moscow region by force. Russias ties with Nato plunged to a post-Cold War low after the conflict and remain tense. Underlining Russias present-day military power, troops drove trucks carrying the giant, nuclear Topol-M missiles and the latest S-400 Triumph air defence rockets through Red Square to gasps of admiration from the crowd of officials, veterans, officers and family members. It made a superb impression on me, said Maria Glavdivana, an 87-year-old Second World War veteran, her chest festooned with medals. We are showing the world our masculinity, our strength. We will never ever weaken. Medvedev paid tribute to those who fought in Georgia, saying, Those marching today in this square … will include the ones who in a real battle proved the high combat readiness of the modern Russian army. Goose-stepping guards of honour, clad in new dark-blue uniforms with crimson chests, golden shoulder-straps and embroidered peaked caps, carried the Victory Banner at the start of the parade in Red Square, as 1,000 musicians from 19 military orchestras played stirring marches in bright sunshine. The banner, a red hammer-and-sickle Soviet flag, was hoisted over the Reichstag building in Berlin in 1945, marking the end of a war that cost around 27 million Soviet lives. Veterans watched from a grandstand as 9,000 troops from various sections of the armed forces paraded. This parade proves we have people to defend our motherland, said Pavel Bogodukhov, who fought the Nazis in Stalingrad and marched with the victorious Soviet army to Berlin. We should feel proud that our armed forces are strong again. After Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov took the salute, standing in a grey, open-top Soviet Zil limousine, Russias latest T-90 main battle tanks, armoured vehicles, howitzers and cannons rumbled past the red-brick walls of the Kremlin. Russia celebrates Victory in Europe Day a day later than the rest of the world as it was early morning on May 9, 1945 in Moscow when the Soviet Union and its allies signed the Act of Germanys Military Surrender outside Berlin. Scotsman.com