75th Anniversary of Great Victory: Celebrations in Khabarovsk

The celebrations dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory took place in Khabarovsk, the city of Military honour, on the 9th of May, 2020. They were held to mark the date of the capitulation of [Germany] in the Great Patriotic War in 1945.

Military Parade

The 75th Military Parade was rescheduled because of COVID-19 pandemic for June, 24th, 2020 – the date of the Moscow military parade held in 1945 (see the page “The Parade of Victors”^[1]). The celebration events included such official ceremonies as a traditional military parade which is carried out annually on Victory Day. Three thousand six hundred army men and 164 pieces of armored equipment were involved in the parade this year. The ceremony started with the Far Eastern military orchestra’s performing of the Russian Federation Hymn, which was supported by cannons’ shots. Then, the Usuries’ Military Academy students entered the Lenin square, marching and holding the copies of the Soviet Army war-time flags. The demonstration of the tank columns finished the parade’s ceremony.^[2]

Fly-past over Khabarovsk

The large-scale air forces’ fly-past over Khabarovsk was the part of the celebration events. Thirty units of air forces such as the newest Su-35 interceptors, An-26 transport aircrafts and [[1]] passenger planes took part in it on the 9th of May, 2020. During the performance aircrafts’ pilots showed various special techniques such as forming the chain of the planes. Four “Alligator” helicopters also took part in the fly-past. Though Khabarovsk citizens were not allowed to watch the fly-past due to the pandemic lockdown, the performance was being broadcasted so that everyone had an opportunity to see it on local TV channels. The second air forces’ fly-past over Khabarovsk, which was planned to be held on June, 24th, didn’t take place because of the poor weather for flying in Khabarovsk.^[3]