Red, powerful: how the country celebrated the anniversaries of the Great Victory

In the 80 years since the Victory, the country has always widely celebrated the anniversaries of the most national historical holiday, even though there were almost no parades in the first 20 years after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The country approached each of these holidays a little differently — it changed according to the demands of the time, being a reflection of socio-political events. About what the very first memorable day and each of the subsequent round anniversaries were like, how the country remembered them and how the Izvestia newspaper described them - in our material.

On the eve of Victory Day, Izvestia has prepared a special project "Two Worlds. One War", dedicated to the history of the confrontation between the USSR and Germany from the mid-30s to the mid-40s of the last century.

May 9th, 1945. National Celebration Day

May 9, 1945 was an exceptional day for the country. On May 8, 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed in Berlin (the preliminary protocol was signed on May 7 in Reims). It marked the end of the Great Patriotic War.

"The unconditional surrender of the German armed forces signed in Berlin sums up the final result of Hitler's bloody adventure. In the final battles, the Red Army finished off the fascist beast," Izvestia wrote about it.

The May 9, 1945 issue is perhaps the most emotional in the newspaper's history. "It's done!", "We've won!", "Great day!", "The Soviet people rejoice!" — newspaper headlines do not hide their joy.

All publications, from official statements to poetry, are filled with euphoria. No one is shy about high-sounding words on this day. The first winning issue of the newspaper opens with a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR designating May 9 as a day off.:

On this day, all Soviet state institutions hoisted the national flag of the USSR, which became the Victory flag, on their buildings.

On the night of May 9th, the vast country did not sleep. At 2:10 a.m. Moscow time, the solemn moment arrived. The radio reported: "Germany has surrendered unconditionally and to the end."

The whole of Moscow came out to celebrate the Victory on Red Square. People were crying with happiness, hugging, kissing and shouting "Hooray!". A victory salute was thundering in the sky.

And in the issue dated May 10, 1945, Joseph Stalin's address to the people was published. In addition, on this day, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the medal "For Victory over Germany" was established.

The first two years after the Victory on May 9 were days off, but there were no parades — the country and its economy were recovering from the war.

On December 23, 1947, the day off on May 9 was canceled. And only in the jubilee year of 1965, Victory Day becomes non-working again.

In the first 20 post—war years, only one Victory Day parade was held, on June 24, 1945. During these 20 years, fireworks and events held by war veterans celebrating Victory Day in labor collectives and meeting in city squares were among the festive events. Festive editorials were published in the central newspapers, gala evenings were held, and 30 artillery salutes were fired in all major cities of the USSR.

May 9th, 1955. 10 years of Victory

"The Great Patriotic War was a truly national war. It showed especially vividly that the decisive force of historical events, including military ones, is the people," Izvestia wrote in its May 8, 1955 issue.

The first anniversary of Victory, on May 9, 1955, was a working day, with solemn gatherings, concerts and mass festivities in squares and parks in the cities of the country.

On May 8, a solemn meeting was held at the Bolshoi Theater on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Victory, at which Marshal Ivan Konev delivered a report.

"On this solemn day, we honor the bright memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom and happiness of nations," he said.

According to him, the operations of the Soviet Army "were creative in nature, were not similar to one another, stemmed from the specific situation at the front and were conducted on a large scale and decisively."

In general, the celebration of the decade of victory in the Great Patriotic War was of a "domestic" nature. In several districts of Moscow, the opening of cinemas and monuments was timed to coincide with this day.

May 9th, 1965. 20 years of Victory

In 1965, on May 9, a solemn parade was held on Red Square in Moscow, dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Victory. Delegations from France, England, the United States and many other countries, diplomats and military attaches arrived at the celebration, Izvestia wrote.

Marshals of the USSR Ivan Bagramyan, Andrey Grechko, Georgy Zhukov, Andrey Yeremenko, Konstantin Rokossovsky, Vasily Sokolovsky, Chief Marshal of Aviation Konstantin Vershinin and other prominent military leaders of that time took part in the parade.

Armored vehicles with new weapons, self-propelled guns of various calibers and purposes, tanks, various missiles and anti-missile launchers, Katyushas and other mechanized artillery marched through Red Square.

Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, spoke at the parade. In his speech, he stressed that it was the Soviet people who played a decisive role in defeating humanity's worst enemy. The parade was crowned by the anthem of the Soviet Union, an artillery salute, an orchestra, and the Victory Banner was solemnly carried across Red Square.

In addition, on May 9, 1965, Moscow was awarded the title of "Hero City", and the Black Sea, Northern, Pacific and Baltic fleets were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

The victory over fascism in 1965 has already been celebrated not only in Moscow, but also in other regions of Russia, as well as in Europe.

May 9th, 1975. 30 years of Victory

In 1975, on May 9, the center of Moscow was solemnly decorated with flags and coats of arms of the USSR and the Union republics. As in 1965, delegations from different countries, prominent military leaders, cosmonauts and veterans arrived in the country.

Electrician Vera Veretina told Izvestia that she had completed her personal five-year plan in four years for the Victory anniversary. For this, she was honored to be photographed at the Victory Banner.

In 1975, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Victory, Izvestia received more than 20,000 letters with stories from former front-line soldiers and home front workers.

In the same year, for the first time, the inhabitants of the country heard David Tukhmanov's song "Victory Day" based on the words of Vladimir Kharitonov. It was performed by opera singer Leonid Smetannikov.

May 9th, 1985. 40 years of Victory

In 1985, on May 9, a parade was held in Moscow, in which a separate column of war veterans took part for the first time. The parade was attended by guests from America, Canada, England, and France. Unlike the previous ones, this parade for the first time began to carry not only Victory Banners, but also enemy ones — they were thrown on the stones of Red Square, Izvestia wrote. In the evening, a festive 40-volley salute was fired in more than 30 cities.

"For us, the Soviet people, May 9th is a special holiday," Izvestia quoted Soviet Defense Minister Sergei Sokolov as saying at the time.

By the 40th anniversary of the Victory, the films "The Battle for Moscow" by Yuri Ozerov and "Go and See" by Elem Klimov were released. More than 11 million people received the jubilee medal "40 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". Murmansk and Smolensk received the title of "Hero City".

May 9th, 1995. 50 years of Victory

In 1995, the first Victory Day parade in Russia's modern history was held on Red Square. Since then, holding a solemn procession has become a tradition.

The celebration that day began at 8:00 a.m. at the Kremlin. Veterans who took part in battles on all fronts — about 5,000 people - marched along the main square of the capital. Soviet leaders watched the parade from Vladimir Lenin's mausoleum. More than 50 world leaders were among the invited guests. In total, more than 4 million people took part in the celebrations.

The second part of the celebration was held on Poklonnaya Gora. A military parade of units of the Moscow garrison and military cadets took place there. In addition to the demonstration of ground-based military equipment, a formation of 79 aircraft and helicopters took place in the sky.

On the eve of May 9, many monuments dedicated to the victory over the Nazis were opened throughout the country. The largest Victory memorial complex was opened on Poklonnaya Gora, Izvestia wrote.

Also on May 9, 1995, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Victory, a monument to Georgy Zhukov was unveiled at the Historical Museum in Moscow.

May 9th, 2005. 60 years of Victory

Since 2005, it has been a tradition in Russia to wear the St. George ribbon on the eve and after Victory Day. It was then that the ribbon began to be perceived as a symbol of the exploits of the Soviet army and its allies.

Twenty years ago, one of the largest parades dedicated to the celebration of May 9th in the history of Russia took place on Red Square. It was broadcast live in many countries around the world.

World leaders also followed the march on Red Square. The parade was divided into two parts — historical and modern. The first were the Suvorov drummers, followed by companies of cadets, pilots, tankers, and sailors with wartime weapons.

Veterans who participated in the fighting were also transported in cars. This was the last parade when they were direct participants in the march. Modern Russian armed forces also marched. The culmination was the launch of Russian combat aircraft.

May 9th, 2015. 70 years of Victory

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, the Kremlin traditionally sent out official invitations to the leaders of 68 states, about 30 arrived. Some media outlets claimed that it was a matter of political differences over the issue of Crimea's annexation to Russia.

Nevertheless, representatives of the republics of the former USSR, Asia, the Director General of UNESCO and others appeared in the stands. The Kremlin stressed that mass refusals "will not affect the spirit of the holiday, its emotional component and scale."

Not everyone was able to get to Red Square on May 9th. As Izvestia found out, restaurants located in high—rise buildings were also affected by the high demand - people were willing to pay tens of thousands of rubles to see an aviation flight in the morning and fireworks in the evening.

The celebration traditionally began with a military parade on Red Square. 160 veterans were invited to the event. Veterans from the USA, France, Canada, Germany, and Ukraine were also invited.

For the first time during such events, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a minute of silence.

The audience saw about 200 pieces of military equipment, both historical and new models. In total, more than 78.5 thousand people took part in the parade, including cadets from military schools.