Notable information and statistics about Russia's Victory Day.
(Baonghean.vn) - Numerous activities were organized across Russia on May 9th to honor veterans of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
Every year, Russia celebrates Victory Day on May 9th. At 00:43 Moscow time on May 9, 1945, the instrument of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed, ending the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union.
The TASS news agency has compiled the following key events and figures regarding Victory Day:
A memorable day
Russia celebrates Victory Day according to the Federal Law "on the glorious days of the armed forces and memorable days of Russia," signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin on March 13, 1995. Initially, this date was set by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as May 8, 1945. During the years 1945-1947, it was a holiday, and after that period it was declared a working day (by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on December 23, 1947), and in 1965 it became a holiday again (by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 25, 1965).
The procedure for commemorating Victory Day is stipulated in the Federal Law of May 19, 1995, "On Immortalizing the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." According to this law, parades featuring weapons, military equipment, and artillery are to be held on May 9th in Moscow, Hero Cities, and cities housing military districts, fleets, combined arms forces, and the Caspian Flotilla.
Additionally, processions, gatherings, meetings, and receptions are held throughout Russia on May 9th to honor veterans of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
In 2020, all festival events in Moscow were postponed or moved online due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the exception of the aerial display and fireworks. The parade on Red Square in Moscow took place on June 24th of that year.
In 2023-2024, Victory Day parades on May 9th were canceled in some regions of Russia for security reasons.
Casualties in war
The Soviet Union lost approximately 27 million people in the Great Patriotic War (accounting for 40% of the total human casualties in World War II), with civilian deaths making up the majority of these losses. According to data from the Special State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Atrocities of the Nazi German Invaders, the German army destroyed entirely or partially more than 1,700 cities and towns, and more than 70,000 villages and settlements in the Soviet Union. Direct damage to the Soviet state and its people amounted to 679 billion rubles in 1941 prices.
Heroes of the Soviet Union
A total of 11,657 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their bravery during the Great Patriotic War (3,051 of them posthumously), including 95 women and 44 foreigners.
Of these, 159 were awarded the title twice, including 154 individuals who received it twice, 3 who received it three times (fighter pilots Ivan Kozhedub and Alexander Pokryshkin and military commander Semyon Budyonny), and 2 who were awarded the title four times (military commander Georgy Zhukov and General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev). The last Hero of the Soviet Union, Captain 3rd rank Leonid Solodkov, became a Hero of the Soviet Union on December 24, 1991.
As of May 8, 2024, Soviet lawyer and politician Boris Kravtsov (Moscow) is the only living recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union title awarded during the Great Patriotic War. In 2008, Soviet artist Pavel Syutkin, residing in Sochi, Krasnodar region, became the last living Hero of Russia to receive this title for his heroic deeds during the Great Patriotic War.
Veterans
According to figures from the Russian Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection Olga Batalina, there were more than 14,500 participants and veterans with disabilities from the Great Patriotic War living in Russia at the beginning of 2024, and also 608,500 veterans, including domestic front workers, widows of disabled veterans and former combatants, former concentration camp prisoners, residents of besieged Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and Sevastopol, as well as residents of besieged Stalingrad, who received this title in April 2023.
