is . It is one of the most important holidays in Russia and of .
on May 8 or 7th. This date marks the surrender at Reims on May 7 (or its delivery and announcement on May 8th), which ended the war in Western Europe.
is celebrated on May 9th. Stalin had a separate in Berlin on May 9. Stalin wanted a surrender to be delivered to Soviet Forces, since Soviets contributed the most support to , and he believed it should be signed in Berlin, .
America doesn’t really have a major holiday that directly corresponds to Victory Day. Memorial day is also celebrated in May (on the last Monday), but that and was originally started to honor those dead from , which was ever fought on American soil.
WWII was the bloodiest war ever fought . Russia – some 21-28 million soldiers and civilians.
One of of the Soviet army was its seemingly endless . Other nations had : , , . However, the Soviet Army didn’t ever seem to run out of soldiers to resist the advancing enemy armies it faced.
fought Nazi Germany on the , while other European countries and the US fought in the West. In the Soviet era, the role of the Western allies was sometimes diminished, (as was the role of the Soviets in Western histories). However, the supplies of military equipment from the USA greatly contributed to the success of the Soviet Army in the critical periods such as in 1941. Likewise, had not the Soviets tirelessly worn down the Nazi army with incredibly bloody battles such as , it’s likely that the Nazis could have conquered and held Western Europe.
May 9 is celebrated all over Russia, the former USSR, and Eastern Europe. There are where . In earlier years, veterans participated in parades. However, currently most of the veterans are about 90 years old or older, and so they just sit and watch parades. parade in Moscow on Red Square, but cities all over the country have their own parades also. There are ; such as at in Moscow and at war memorials throughout the country.
In Moscow, there is a tradition that on May 9 veterans gather in front of the Bolshoi Theater. This started as a way to hold a sort of reunion, but it is now also a tradition that many younger Russians participate in, arriving to the area to greet the veterans come, give them flowers and them for their service.
In recent years, many Russians have started wearing the black and orange stripped ribbons that have formerly been associated with May 9 year-round as a general sign of patriotism. The ribbon is called . The ribbon colors and pattern were part of many high awarded by Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union and in many awards granted by the current Russian Federation. These awards include and the Soviet Орден Славы (Order of Glory). The ribbons have been displayed on May 9th as .
The ribbons in Moscow since 2006 via an initiative of RIA-Novosti (a state-run news agency) and . The ribbons are often worn on a jacket lapel, tied to a backpack, or to some part of an automobile (the radio antenna, rearview mirror, or door handle being most common). The ribbons were once somewhat controversial in Russia as many, particularly older Russians, considered handing out the ribbon to everyone a degradation of the honor signified by the decoration in the state awards. Some also complained about it being tied to cars where it often became dirty and ratty. However, since Russia incorporated Crimea, the ribbons have become an accepted and generally unquestioned display of patriotism in Russia.
