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2005 Moscow Victory Day Parade

The 2005 Moscow Victory Day Parade was a military parade which took place in Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2005 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945. The parade was inspected by the Minister of Defence Sergei Ivanov and it was commanded by Moscow Military District Commander General of the Army Ivan Efremov. Music was performed by the Massed Bands of the Moscow Garrison directed by Colonel Valery Khalilov on his 3rd national parade, the first to include 4 international marching bands. After the inspection of the troops, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin gave his 6th-holiday address to the nation. More than 150 foreign dignitaries (included 50 heads of state) were presented. Among them were Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, President of the United States George W. Bush, President of China Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi, French President Jacques Chirac, Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov. It was the largest parade in the history of Russia, and one of the largest in the world's history.

Parade

This was the last time veterans took part directly as participants. This time through, reenacting the motorized infantry of the original 1945 parade mobile column, many veterans of the fronts rode in the very trucks which carried infantry to the front lines of the war, arranged accordingly by the fronts they took part at war's end. Veterans from nations such as North Korea and Turkmenistan took part in the parade alongside their Russian counterparts.

Troops participating in the parade

Following the parade commander's car the parade marched past the saluting grandstand in the following order,

Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military Music School
Color Guard of the Victory Banner, the Flag of Russia, and the Armed Forces Colour from the 1st Honor Guard Battalion of the 154th Independent Commandant's Regiment
Historical Unit
- Infantry of the Red Army
- Tank forces
- Artillery
- Engineering formations
- Reconnaissance and commando formations
- K-9 units of NKVD
- Soviet Air Force
- Soviet Navy
- 1st Cavalry Squadron, Presidential Cavalry Escort Battalion, Kremlin Regiment
Red Army Veterans in military trucks, arranged in the fronts in order of the 1945 Victory Parade
- Karelian
- Leningrad
- 1st Baltic
- 3rd Belorussian
- 2nd Belorussian
- 1st Belorussian
- 1st Ukrainian
- 2nd Ukrainian
- 3rd Ukrainian
- 4th Ukrainian
Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces
Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Military Engineering Academy
Military University of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense named after Marshal Timoshenko
Gagarin Air Force Academy
Military Aviation Technical University named after NE Zhukovsky
Baltic Naval Institute
Civil Defence Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situation
Moscow Military Institute of the Federal Border Service of the Russian Federation
Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School
331st Guards Parachute Regiment, 98th Guards Airborne Division
Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the Baltic Fleet
Suvorov Military School
Nakhimov Naval School
Moscow Higher Military Command School

Music

The music and marches were played by the Military Band of the Armed Forces of Russia under the direction of Colonel Valery Khalilov

Inspection and address

March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (Марш Преображенского Полка)
Slow March of the Tankmen (Встречный Марш Танкистов) by Semyon Tchernetsky
Slow March to Carry the War Flag (Встречный Марш для выноса Боевого Знамени) by Dmitriy Valentinovich Kadeyev
Slow March of the Guards of the Navy (Гвардейский Встречный Марш Военно-Морского Флота) by Nikolai Pavlocich Ivanov-Radkevich
Slow March of the Officers Schools (Встречный Марш офицерских училищ) by Semyon Tchernetsky
Slow March (Встречный Марш) by Dmitry Pertsev
Slow March of the Red Army (Встречный Марш Красной Армии) by Semyon Tchernetsky
March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment (Марш Преображенского Полка)
Glory (Славься) by Mikhail Glinka
Parade Fanfare All Listen! (Парадная Фанфара «Слушайте все!») by Andrei Golovin
National Anthem of the Russian Federation (Государственный Гимн Российской Федерации) by Alexander Alexandrov
Signal Retreat (Сигнал «Отбой»)

Veteran and mobile column

March General Miloradovich (Марш Генерал Милорадович) by Valery Khalilov
Farewell of Slavianka (Прощание Славянки) by Vasiliy Agapkin
Defenders of Moscow (Защитников Москвы) by Boris Alexandrovich Mokroysov
Artillery March (Марш Артиллеристов) by Tikhon Khrennikov
Katyusha (Катюша) by Matvey Blanter
Ballad of a Soldier (Баллада о Солдате) by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy
Sacred War (Священная Война) by Alexandr Alexandrov
March The track to the frontline/The Song of the frontline driver (Марш «Дорожка фронтовая»/Песенка фронтового шофёра) by Boris Andreyevich Mokrousov
March Victory (Марш Победа) by Albert Mikhailovich Arutyunov
Lefort's March (Лефортовский Марш) by Valery Khalilov
On Guard for the Peace (На страже Мира) by Boris Alexandrovich Diev
Combat March (Строевой Марш) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev
Air March (Авиамарш) by Yuliy Abramovich Khait
March of the Cosmonauts/Friends, I believe (Марш Космонавтов /Я верю, друзья) by Oskar Borisovich Feltsman
March Farewell, rocky mountains (Марш/Песня «Прощайте, скалистые горы») by Evgeny Emmanuilovich Zharkovsky
Crew is One Family (Экипаж - одна семья) by Viktor Vasilyevich Pleshak
We are the Army of the People (Мы Армия Народа) by Georgy Viktorovich Mavsesya
We Need One Victory (Нам Нужна Одна Победа) by Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava
Glory to the Heroes (Слава героям) by Dmitry Illarionovich Pertsev
On the Road (В Путь) by Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy
In Defense of the Homeland (В защиту Родины) by Viktor Sergeyevich Runov

Conclusion

Victory Day (День Победы) by David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov
Song of the Russian Army (Песня о Российской Армии) by Alexandr Alexandrov

Dignitaries in attendance

The Victory Day parade drew many international statesman to the Russian capital in the days leading up to 9 May. According to the Russian government, top leaders from 56 countries were invited to join Putin in the 2005 parade. In total, about 150 countries were represented at the parade. It was the largest gathering of world leaders in Russian history. The parade was the first one to be attended by world leaders since the 1995 parade (which attracts 57 countries).

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder brought with him a group of Wehrmacht veterans, whom Vladimir Putin personally approached after a military parade on Red Square. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also arrived with Italian veterans.

Cancelled attendees

President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, as well as two Presidents of Baltic nations, did not attend despite being invited. Saakashvili justified his refusal to attend by saying that "there was nothing much to celebrate in Moscow", instead hosting a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Tbilisi, and hosting President Bush in the Georgian capital the following day. Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus and Estonian President Arnold Rüütel jointly announced their non-participation in the parade on 7 March. They were all represented by lower-level politicians. In addition to that, a number of ambassadors and war veterans were presented as private attendees. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was unable to attend due to an emergency engagement followed the 2005 United Kingdom general election. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was also invited, however instead chose to preside over the Victory Day Parade on Minsk's Victors Avenue.