The “Katyusha” and the T-34 tank went through the Victory Parade on the Millennium Square in Kazan

(KZN.RU, May 9, Alsu Safina). The parade of the troops of the Kazan garrison in honor of the 73rd anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War took place on the Millennium Square. About two thousand servicemen and students of the cadet classes and representatives of the Tatarstan youth movement took part in the parade. In addition, the gathered could see modern military equipment and equipment from the times of the Great Patriotic War, including the legendary Katyusha and the T-34 tank. Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Alexei Pesoshin, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Farid Mukhametshin, Chairman of the State Council of RT, Mintimer Shaimiev, State Advisor of the Republic of Tajikistan, Asgat Safarov, Head of the Office of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan, and others attended the parade.

Since the morning, Kazan citizens and the guests of the city began to gather in the Millennium Square. Hundreds of citizens together with their families came to pay tribute to the memory of the participants of the Great Patriotic War and the workers of the rear, thanks to which the long-awaited victory was won, and to see the passage of the troops of the Kazan garrison.

Traditionally, before the start of the Victory Day parade, theatrical prolog was shown on the main venue. Dances and songs showed the hardships of the war, the price at which it was possible to win. Performances of artists were accompanied by video chronicles and photographs of the war years. The audience was reminded of the Tatarstan residents who participated in the Great Patriotic War, whose names will forever remain in the memory of the descendants.

The veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the workers of the rear watched the theatrical prolog, many of whom could not hold back tears, remembering the terrible and hard years.

Afterward, the solemn part of the event began. To the music of Alexander Alexandrov “Sacred war”, a standard group of servicemen of the company of the honor guard of the Kazan Higher Tank Command Red Banner School carried the national flags of Russia, Tatarstan, and the legendary Victory banner to the square.

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, congratulated the Russians on one of the main holidays for the country. By tradition, a broadcast from Moscow's Red Square was organized. The head of state noted that this holiday “has always been, is and will be the dearest, most sacred for each family, for our entire vast country, a holiday of national pride and eternal, unfading memory”.

“73 years ago, the Great Patriotic War ended. Nazism was broken, its atrocities, outrages and barbarity were put an end, criminally world domination plans were suppressed”, said V. Putin. “The rout of the Nazis became a grandiose, triumphant Victory, this long-awaited word immediately flew around the planet. And all countries, all the peoples understood then that it was the Soviet Union that determined the outcome of World War II, that this great sacrificial feat was committed by our soldiers and our people”. The President of the country recalled that the Victory could be achieved at the cost of heavy, irreparable losses, thanks to courage on the fronts and in the rear. “However, today the feat of the people who saved Europe and the world from slavery, extermination, and the horrors of the Holocaust is trying to be crossed out. The events of the war distorted, the true heroes forgot, the story itself rewritten, distorted”, said V. Putin. “We will not allow this to happen. Never. Our duty is to preserve the memory of the valor of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the sake of others, of all our soldiers and courageous fighters of the second front, of the contribution of the anti-Hitler coalition countries to the victory, of the combat brotherhood of those who opposed Nazism”.

“Our people fought to death”, said the head of state. “It was truly impossible. Nobody thought about himself and worked heroically, women and children as well. They fought for the sake of the Motherland, for the sake of Victory. For those who defended the country, their families in the heat of war”.

Vladimir Putin addressed special words of gratitude to veterans: “The experience of your life, scorched by war, is an eternal example for all generations. We bow to your piercing devotion to the Motherland. We have the great honor of being your heirs. We understand how high this responsibility is, and we will never let you down”.

The bright memory of all who did not return from the war, the veterans who died, were honored with a minute of silence.

The anthem of the Russian Federation was sounded after the President’s speech.

Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, also said his words of gratitude. “73 years have passed since the end of the Great Patriotic War. May 9 has always been, is and will be our main holiday”, marked the head of the republic. “This is a day of national triumph and people's pride, a day of sorrow and eternal memory”.

“The Great Victory went to us at the cost of irreplaceable losses. Tens of millions of deaths, thousands of burnt cities and villages, destroyed factories and plants, destroyed cultural monuments”, said Rustam Minnikhanov. “We will never forget our ancestors, captains, soldiers, militia, workers of the rear, partisans, underground fighters, old men, women, children, people of different nationalities and professions have won freedom and the long-awaited peace. They’ve been burning in tanks and airplanes, freezing in the trenches, they drowning at the ferries. Without sleep and rest, they worked in factories and hospitals and maintained morale at concert venues. Realizing that every day could be the last, they still went into battle, covering front-line friends”.

“Without hiding pride and tears, we thank you, dear veterans and workers of the rear. We will do everything so that you will not be ashamed of us, a new generation”, said the President of the RT. “Our people will never forgive and forget Nazis and their ideological heirs the numerous crimes, horrors of genocide, occupation, famine, and blockade”. Rustam Minnikhanov marked that today the heirs of the Great Victory, soldiers and commanders of the Russian army, continue to defend the borders of the country, effectively resist aggression and international terrorism. “Our peace and calmness are in reliable hands”, believes Rustam Minnikhanov. At the end of his speech, the anthem of Tatarstan was sounded.

The solemn passage of the troops of the Kazan garrison was opened by the students of the Kazan Suvorov Military School, flag groups with the state flags of Russia and Tatarstan, the banner of the Victory and the standards of the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. The military personnel of the Kazan Higher Tank Command Red Banner School, the ceremonial calculation of the Kazan Suvorov Military School, the ceremonial calculation of the officers and cadets of the Kazan Higher Command Tank Red Banner School, listeners and cadets of the Kazan Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, officers of the Interior Ministry of the RT, fighters of a separate detachment of the special purpose of Privolzhsky district of the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, employees of the Office of the Federal Service for Enforcement the lawsuits on the RT, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Measures of Russia for the RT, the Tatarstan Customs. Particular attention was given to military equipment. 19 units of equipment from the times of the Great Patriotic War and modern ones left the area. The legendary BM-13 “Katyusha”, the T-34 tank, the BTR 82a and the BTR 80, the IS-3, the 152 howitzer of the 1943 model (D-1), the Soviet military all-wheel-drive cars GAZ-67, motorcycles were among them. The combined military orchestra of the Kazan garrison completed the passage.

An exposition of a military-patriotic exhibition was also organized there, in the framework of which modern models of equipment were presented and the field kitchen worked.