Victory Day is one of the most important holidays in Russian Federation. To be honest, Russians are not the most patriotic people in the world, as in, we do not know what majority of our state holidays actually mean and we are usually just glad to have an additional day off. But the situation around Victory day is completely different. On May 9th the whole nation unites and celebrates the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War (the World War II) in 1945. This holiday is all so special to us because there every single family lost someone in that war. During World War II, the Soviet Union lost more than 26 million people. The war touched each one of us directly or indirectly. Our grandfathers and grandmothers bravely endured all the horrors of that war. A lot of them gave their lives to save the country from the Nazi terror. On this day people remember their relatives who were part of World War II and give thanks to those who are still alive.

On this day, celebrations and commemorative events are held all across former Soviet Union with military parades taking place in major cities, the most spectacular one in Moscow’s Red Square. Victory Day`s celebration ends with a grand show of fireworks once the sun sets down. This year's celebration of the Victory Day was special given it was 70th anniversary of our victory. The government has put a lot of effort into making this anniversary unique. Posters dedicated to the events of World War II and glorifying this great victory were posted across all Russian cities. Moscow administration hired artists who painted the city walls with graffiti depicting battle scenes from the turning points of the war such as the battle for Moscow in 1941-1942, Battle of Stalingrad of 1942-1943, Battle of Kursk in 1943, etc.

But the most massive funds were spent on the highlight of the celebration - Victory Parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Parade in 2015 was the largest and most lavish parade held in Russian history. Total number of participants of the parade was over 16,000 servicemen of the Russian Federation. Also 1,300 troops from 10 foreign countries participated in the parade. The composition of the mechanized column of the parade was fundamentally new in comparison to previous years. New war machines including "Armata", "Boomerang", "Kurganets-25" and mobile missile launchers "Yars" participated in the parade for the first time. Also, five armored vehicles "Tiger" equipped by the anti-tank systems "Cornet" drove through the Red Square as part of the parade. In the sky, a new aerobatic team "Wings of Tavrida" made spectacular performance with combat aircrafts Yak-130. In total, 194 armored vehicles and 143 planes and helicopters participated in the Victory Day`s parade of 2015. After the official part of the celebration was over, people continued celebrations by walking around the city, congratulating war veterans with the victory and attending free concerts with popular artists who performed war songs of the past. The Victory Day was finished with traditional fireworks in honor of the great victory in one of the most brutal and bloodiest wars in human history.