Historic Shots of 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow

Usually, the Victory Day parade is held on 9 May in Russia and several former republics of the Soviet Union. This year, however, the Russian authorities decided to move the event to 24 June amid the severe coronavirus situation.

The date for this year's parade, however, was chosen for a good reason. The first-ever parade in Moscow to celebrate the defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War took place on this day in 1945, about two months after Germany's unconditional surrender was signed near Berlin.

The 1945 parade was the longest and the largest to ever be held on Red Square, with 40,000 Red Army soldiers and 1,850 pieces of military hardware participating in it.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum and watched the parade, while Marshals Georgy Zhukov, who formally accepted the German surrender to the Soviet Union, and Konstantin Rokossovsky rode through the parade ground on white and black stallions respectively.

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A shot taken from the film "The Great Victory of the Soviet People". Soviet soldiers throw Nazi banners at the base of the Mausoleum of Lenin during the first victory parade on Red Square, 24 June 1945.

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The first victory parade on Red Square on 24 June 1945.

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The first parade to mark the victory of the USSR over Germany was commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky and hosted by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov.

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View of the tribune of the Lenin Mausoleum during the first victory parade, 24 June 1945.

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General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union / CPSU Joseph Stalin on the podium during the first victory parade on Red Square on 24 June 1945.

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Columns of ISU-152 self-propelled guns crossing Red Square during the first victory parade in Moscow on 24 June 1945.

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In the centre is the commander of the combined regiment of the 4th Ukrainian Front, Major General Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, to the left is the commander of the 101st Rifle Corps of the 38th Army, Lieutenant General Andrei Leontyevich Bondarev.

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Columns of soldiers marching through Red Square during the first victory parade on 24 June 1945.

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Soviet General and Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (centre) at the first Victory Parade, 24 June 1945.

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Soldiers riding motorcycles through Red Square during the victory parade, 24 June 1945.

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Rows of sappers with tracker dogs marching on Red Square during the first victory parade, 24 June 1945.

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IS-2 tanks during the first victory parade on Red Square, 24 June 1945.

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Soviet tank crewmen during the first victory parade on Red Square, 24 June 1945.

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Rows of sappers with tracker dogs marching on Red Square during the first victory parade, 24 June 1945.

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Katyusha multiple rocket launchers during the first victory parade in Moscow, 24 June 1945.

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Foreign guests near Red Square during the first victory parade, 24 June 1945.

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Soviet General and Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Sokolovsky in the victory parade in Moscow, 24 June 1945.

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Parade formation of the USSR Navy's military personnel.

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The Soviet cavalry during the first victory parade in Moscow, 24 June 1945.

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Soviet soldiers throwing Nazi banners at the base of the Mausoleum of Lenin during the first victory parade on Red Square, 24 June 1945.

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The first victory parade on Red Square on 24 June 1945.