Thousands of soldiers and war veterans paraded through Moscow's
Red Square on Monday as leaders from 50 states joined celebrations
marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in
Europe.
In a keynote speech at the start of the parade, Russian
President Vladimir Putin congratulated participants in the Victory
Day military parade and praised those who fought for freedom and
independence.
He said the war had shown that resorting to force to solve
problems would result in tragedy, so a peaceful order should be
safeguarded based on security, justice and cultural exchange.
The world must never allow a repeat of the Cold War or a real
war, he added.
A salute was fired and the Russian national anthem played before
the parade began. Soldiers in modern and WWII-era uniforms and with
WWII-era weapons marched in tight formation, the slap of their
boots echoing across the square's cobblestones.
A host of world leaders, including President Hu
Jintao, US President George W. Bush, French President Jacques
Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi, joined Putin and war veterans near the
Lenin Mausoleum for the parade that also featured a flyover by MiG
and Sukhoi fighter jets.
Silver-haired veterans with rows of medals on their chests
filled the stands set up in front of the GUM department store on
the periphery of the square, which had a huge victory banner draped
across its long facade.
Russia lost a staggering 27 million people in the war, and
Victory Day is an important holiday. Television has shown scores of
Soviet-era war movies over the last several days, and posters and
signs celebrating the day are plastered around Moscow, St.
Petersburg, Volgograd and other cities.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2005)
