The Moscow Times has gathered a small collection of Soviet songs devoted the war against Nazi Germany. They are all worth a listen -- and they are ringing out across the former Soviet Union today.
Here's one:
Victory Day ceremonies in Samarkand, Uzbekistan:
Here are several images from the Victory Day ceremonies in Sevastopol, the port city on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea that was annexed by Russia in March 2014:
AP photographer Andrey Basevich has this picture of a Crimean Tatar in Simferopol, the capital of the Ukrainian region of Crimea that was annexed by Russia in March 2014, shortly after he tried to grab a portrait of Stalin away from a Victory Day celebrator. Stalin infamously deported the Crimea Tatar people in May 1944:
Here is some RFE/RL Ukrainian Service video of events in Simferopol.
Impressive photo of the parade in Moscow today:
It is already dark in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok and Russian state television is now showing the live fireworks salute there.
The best part of Victory Day. Thanking the veterans:
Muscovites carrying portraits of slain Soviet service personnel and departed veterans in the metro in Moscow today. Similar actions, called the Immortal Regiment, are being held across the former Soviet Union. Police in Moscow said more than 300,000 Muscovites participated in this action:
Russian President Vladimir Putin marched briefly with a portrait of his father, who served in the Leningrad region during the war:
If you read Russian, here is a big essay on Slon.ru on the lend-lease program, through which Britain and the United States provided material assistance to the Soviet Union. If you don't speak Russian, the photos are still worth a look.
