The Historical Museum will tell you about the legendary parades on Red Square

For the 80th anniversary of the Victory Day Parade on Red Square, the Historical Museum has prepared an online resource dedicated to the legendary parades on Red Square

Red Square preserves the memory of many glorious moments in the history of our country. But two events of the twentieth century, known to the whole world from film and newsreel footage, finally consolidated its special, sacred status for the main square of Russia. The parade of November 7, 1941, and the Victory Day Parade of 1945 are symbols of the unparalleled courage and great triumph of the Soviet people, the triumph of fortitude and the immortal glory of the victorious heroes.

The online resource "Two Parades" tells about the preparation and holding of two legendary parades in 1941 and 1945, which took place near the walls of the Historical Museum.

"The two parades, imbued with many deep meanings, have remained in history as the embodiment of true faith in Victory and selfless service to the Fatherland. In June 1945, those who, defending their homeland, remained forever on the battlefields, who died at the hands of the Nazis, were tortured in concentration camps, died of hunger and wounds, invisibly marched along the Red Square. For me personally, the Victory Day Parade also has a very personal significance – then, in June 1945, my father, Konstantin Grigoryevich Levykin, was walking along the cobblestones of Red Square as part of the Dzerzhinsky Division. His memories of that day, the happiest in his life, are also published on the website," says Alexey Levykin, General Director of the Historical Museum.

Based on archival materials from the Historical Museum, the Russian Archive of Film and Photographic Documents, the archive and the memories of participants in those events, the creators of the online resource tell the story of two legendary military parades on Red Square. Of particular value are photographs from the family archives, handed over by the heirs of outstanding Soviet military leaders – Marshals I.S. Konev, L.A. Govorov, V.I.Kazakov, V.D. Sokolovsky.

The Historical Museum has for the first time published photographs by the famous military photographer Ya.N. Khalip, who captured the passage to Red Square of the combined regiment of the 4th Ukrainian Front led by Major General L.I. Brezhnev. A commemorative album with these photographs was presented in 1978 by the outstanding master of photography Leonid Brezhnev, who served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

Of particular interest are photographs from the funds of the State Museum of Fine Arts, which captured the preparations for the Parade of the consolidated regiment of the 1st Ukrainian Front at rehearsals that took place near Dresden in May 1945.