OREANDA-NEWS. May 9, 2008. President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev addressed his greetings to the war veterans, participants in the parade and guests. Mr Medvedev congratulated everyone present and all the people of Russia on the occasion.

Keeping with tradition, the parade was opened by a drummers company from the Moscow Military Musical College. The drummers were followed by standard-bearing groups with the Russian State Flag, the Banner of Victory, and the Standard of the Russian Armed Forces, and then by a standard-bearing company and honour guard from each of the three branches of the Armed Forces.

Infantry, air force and navy companies dressed and armed as during the Great Patriotic War comprised the historical part of the parade.

They were followed on Red Square by columns from the Russian Armed Forces General Academy, the Peter the Great Strategic Missile Forces Academy, the Ministry of Defence Military University, the Military Engineering Academy, the Y.A. Gagarin Air Force Academy, the N.E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, the Emergency Situations Ministry Civil Defence Academy, The Spetstroi Military-Technical University, the Moscow Radio-electronic Space Troops Military Institute, the Ryazan Higher Paratroops Command College, and also by a paratroops battalion, battalions of marines and the Russian Interior Ministry troops, teachers and students from the Russian Federal Security Service Moscow Border Guards Institute, and pupils from the Nakhimov Naval Military School and the Moscow Suvorov Military School. The participants in the parade wore the new armed forces’ dress uniform.

A new feature of the parade this year was that modern military hardware took part. Red Square was crossed by T-90 tanks, tactical Iskander missile transporter and launch vehicles, Smerch multiple rocket launcher systems, Buk air defence missile systems, Topol missile launch vehicles and the Msta and Sprut self-propelled artillery systems.

The parade ended with an airborne display: Mi-8 helicopters with the Russian State Flag and the flags of the Armed Forces and the Air Force, an AN-124 Ruslan transport plane accompanied by two Su-27 fighters, a supersonic Tu-160 bomber, a MiG-31 long-range interceptor, a group of Il-78 refuelling aircraft, a Tu-95MS accompanied by two Mig-29 aircraft, Tu-22M3 bombers and fighter planes flown by the Russkiye Vityazi and Strizhi aerobatic teams.

The parade was closed by the combined military orchestra of the Moscow Garrison.