Victory Day 60th anniversary commemorated in Russia: Difference between revisions

Monday, May 9, 2005 

Today the 60th anniversary of Victory Day was commemorated in Russia, and other successor states of the Soviet Union.

The parade on Red Square started at 7:00 UTC. The leaders of more than 50 countries and heads of several international organisations attended the parade. George W. Bush watched the parade with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Others attending included:

• Hu Jintao - General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
• Kofi Annan - Secretary General of the United Nations
• Junichiro Koizumi - Prime Minister of Japan
• Gerhard Schröder - Chancellor of Germany
• Jacques Chirac - President of the French Republic

More than 4,000 World War II veterans and 7,000 military personnel were involved in the parade. The culmination was the flight of 12 planes (made up of SU-25s and MIG-29s), which emitted white, blue and red smoke to paint a Russian flag in the air.

Average Moscow citizens were not allowed to the parade. The exits from several metropolitan stations were closed. Mass celebrations are planned to be held at Poklonnaya Gora, Moscow's primary WW2 memorial.

Several new monuments were opened today, such as the 8-meter statue of Charles de Gaulle by Zurab Tsereteli and the monument to soldiers from Allied countries.

In the evening there was a large fireworks display.

The 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day was commemorated across Europe yesterday.

• "VE Day 60th anniversary commemorated across Europe" — Wikinews, May 8, 2005
• "Anti-Bush protest in Amsterdam" — Wikinews, May 8, 2005

• "Leaders mourn Soviet wartime dead" — BBC News, May 8, 2005
• "Bush joins Putin to mark war's end" — CNN.com, May 8, 2005
• Judith Ingram. "World Leaders Pay Tribute to Soviet Sacrifice in World War II on 60th Anniversary of VE Day" — ABC News (US), May 9, 2005
  

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable. Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication. Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.