March takes place at Kremlin to mark legendary parade anniversary

MOSCOW, November 7 (Itar-Tass) -- A march took place on Red Square in Moscow on Russian Military Glory Day to mark the anniversary of the legendary military parade of 1941.

Sixty seven years ago, soldiers right from the walls of the old Kremlin, right from the centre of Moscow, went to the front.

Today

Before the march, Moscow government officials laid flowers and wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Greeting veterans, Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov expressed gratitude to them for their heroism. The entire country expresses admiration for their feat in the war. "The highest gratitude for all the veterans that we can live under the peaceful sky," Luzhkov said.

Eighty eight veterans who participated in the legendry parade live in Moscow at present, and 75 of them were present together with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren at Red Square on November 7, this year, the mayor noted.

The parade participants this Friday experienced the historical event once again. The veterans who watched the march from the Mausoleum stand were honoured guests and the main honoured persons of the holiday. At the beginning of the war, they were at the same age as the military school students who marched along the country's main square on Friday.

Katyusha battery commander, Moscow defender and 1941 parade participant Mark Ivanikhin was also present here.

Soldiers dressed in WWII-time uniform showed a staged battle in the first part of the parade. A cavalry entered the "battle". Then, students of military schools marched along the square. The parade was concluded with a march of the Honour Guard and the orchestra of the Moscow Military District.

The cold autumn of 1941 was heaviest time for Russia. The Nazis were trying to break to the besieged capital. Despite the heavy situation, the supreme commander in chief decided to hold a military parade in Moscow on November 7, 1941, to maintain the tradition. The fact itself was expected to stiffen the spirit of residents and defenders of the capital. There was no parade preparation for the enemy not to know about the plans and not to carry out artillery and air strikes.

The parade in Moscow was quite a surprise for the enemy. According to witnesses, Hitler was enraged when he knew about the political action of Stalin.

Parade participants meanwhile right from Red Square went to the front, the line of which lay 50-60 kilometres from Moscow. The nature on the day was on the side of the Soviet Army -- the cloudy weather with snow did not allow Nazi aircraft to fly up to the sky. The battle near Moscow ended with complete crushing of Hitler's troops. More than 11,000 residential sites were freed, and the enemy was driven 250 kilometres from Moscow.

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