On Thursday night, in Moscow, the first rehearsal of the May 9th Victory Day parade took place. Armored vehicles took part in the rehearsal. Per tradition, military vehicles moved from the Mnevniki District to Red Square. Some weapon systems will be shown for the first time during the Victory Day parade. Reporting on the premiere of this season's latest military hardware, here's Andrey Grigoryev.
The first rehearsal is basically the same as the parade itself, just without the aerial part, without an audience, at night, and under pouring rain. On the other hand, it's just a tryout, a preview, after which the necessary parts can be changed and corrected. The Moscow garrison is ready to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of Victory Day, celebrating the end of the Great Patriotic War (WW2). About 10,000 soldiers and officers, 28 parade squads from various military academies — the Nakhimov and the Suvorov Military academies. It also included National Guard units, EMERCON, and the FSB.
For the first time, the new boy scouts are also participating. This after-school program was created by the Ministry of Defense, uniting ideas of military camaraderie and patriotism. Upon the Red Square's brick road, 114 different specimens of military hardware roll on — APCs, self-propelled artillery mounts, and various anti-aircraft vehicles. So that their tracks don't harm the pavement, tracked vehicles are dressed with special tires. This has to be done before every parade. Special soft pads allow the tracks to move as silently and as carefully as possible.
At the vanguard are the traditional vehicles from the Second World War. Those famous T-34 battle tanks that made it all the way to Berlin. After them are the more modern vehicles. Along with the famous Typhoon and Tiger AFVs are the giant Iskander missile systems — there are just over 100 of these in existence. These mechanized columns try to be filled with top-of-the-line hardware every year. This is the first time the public sees the Arctic versions of the T-72 tank and the Pantsir-S1 and Tor missile systems. They come in cold winter colors and are on tracks, since there are no roads in the Arctic. Our guys did a great job. For many of them it was their first time in Red Square.
Training in Alabino and actually being here are two different things. There we had concrete pavement, here we have brick pavement. It's harder to walk here. But anyway, what we saw today makes us confident that we can accomplish our task with dignity. There are 2 more rehearsals ahead — on May 3rd and 7th. Before the Victory Day parade, all of the participating units, including dismounted and mechanized units — must coordinate flawlessly and look absolutely perfect.
