“Since we were not talking about an anniversary, no broad international participation was envisaged,” Peskov said.

Commenting on the presence of Moldovan President Igor Dodon at the events held on May 9, the Kremlin official explained that the Russian leader invited his Moldovan counterpart to a celebration during their last meeting.

Dodon took part in the parade on Red Square. In addition, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said that the arrival of the President of Moldova to celebrate Victory Day in the Russian capital means a lot for the development of relations between the two peoples.

About 10 thousand military personnel and 114 units of ground equipment took part in the Victory Military Parade. The aviation portion of the event was canceled due to bad weather conditions.

Addressing the Russians with congratulatory speech, Vladimir Putin noted that no, there was not and there will not be a force that could enslave the Russian people.

Delivering a congratulatory speech on Red Square on the occasion of the Victory Parade, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the disunity of states at that time did not prevent the tragedy.

“This monstrous tragedy could not be prevented primarily due to the connivance of the criminal ideology of racial superiority, due to the disunity of the leading countries of the world.

This allowed the Nazis to arrogate to themselves the right to decide the fate of other peoples, to unleash the most brutal, bloody war, to enslave, and to put almost everyone in the service of their deadly goals. European countries", said the Russian leader.

It is worth noting that a similar phrase was heard in the president’s speech at the Victory Parade last year. He also mentioned that the aggressor “has put the economic potential of almost all of Europe at his service.”

There are fewer foreign guests

Last year’s congratulations also included an invitation to other countries of the world to fight the global threat together: “We are obliged to defeat this evil, and Russia is open to joining forces with all states, ready to work on creating a modern, non-bloc system of international security.”

The main guest of honor of the Russian President at the Victory Parade was the President of Moldova Igor Dodon, who is not visiting Moscow for the first time in the few months since taking office.

Dodon came to power on socialist slogans, as well as promises to get closer to Russia.

In 2016, the same guest of honor on the podium was the President of Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev was also the guest of honor of the Russian President in 2015, when Russia celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Victory, to which, due to cooling relations with Western countries, the leaders of European countries and the United States did not attend.

The most representative event was the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Victory, when the leaders of all the major world powers came to visit Vladimir Putin. Among them, the leaders of the allies took pride of place - the President of the United States and the President of France, Great Britain was represented by the Deputy Prime Minister. Also among the guests of the parade were the then Chancellor of Germany, the Prime Ministers of Japan, Italy and the People's Republic of China.

The parade in 2015, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory over fascism, was ignored by most European politicians. This is caused by the deterioration of relations between Russia and Western countries after the development of the Ukrainian crisis.

Most of the 30 foreign leaders who came to Moscow were representatives of the republics former USSR. Among the foreign guests in the stands were the head of Cuba, the secretary general, the general director, and the leaders of Mongolia, Vietnam, Venezuela, and Serbia.

Medvedev and Sobyanin left alone

During the Victory Parade this year, in the seats for guests of honor to the left of the president there was the speaker and, in the second row there was the head of.

To the right of the president, facing the stands, was Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who was separated from Putin by two veterans sitting next to him. The seating arrangement was similar in 2016.

In 2008, when Medvedev was elected president of Russia, both leaders sat next to each other. At the 2010 anniversary parade, Putin was on the right hand of the leader of the People's Republic of China and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel.

In 2011, the blogosphere actively discussed Medvedev and Putin, who sat in the stands during the passage of troops, rather than standing up, as statesmen had done before. This caused a negative reaction from bloggers from both the liberal and patriotic camps.

The President of the USSR was also present at the parade in 2017, who in 2015 admitted in an interview that it became difficult for him to withstand such a ceremony.

In 1985, when the Victory Parade was held in Moscow for the first time in many years, Gorbachev, like the then Soviet leaders, received it, standing on the podium of the Lenin Mausoleum.

After the end of the parade, Putin shook hands with those sitting not far from him statesmen, left the stands together with the President of Moldova.

According to one of Gazeta.Ru’s interlocutors, who watched the parade from close range, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin left the parade along with the head of the Federation Council Valentina Matvienko. The mayor of Moscow, like Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, left alone.

The Western press, which covered the Victory Parade, notes that for the Kremlin, victory in the war becomes one of the foundations of legitimacy. The Washington Post, reminding readers of the sacrifices the USSR suffered in the fight against the Nazis, notes that, in the Kremlin’s view, “saving the world from fascism greatest achievement Not only Soviet Union. It became the basis for Russia’s return to the image of a great power after the Cold War...”

CHISINAU, May 9 – RIA Novosti. President of Moldova Igor Dodon, who arrived on a visit to Moscow, will take part in events dedicated to the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Earlier, Dodon announced that he had received an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend festive events on Red Square on May 9, dedicated to Victory Day.

Long awaited visit

As Dodon told RIA Novosti before the trip, the presidential adviser on foreign policy and Ambassador of Moldova to Russia Andrei Neguta, as well as the press secretary of the head of the republic Ion Ceban, will go to Moscow with him. Also on the trip, the president will be accompanied by his wife Galina Dodon and middle son Bogdan.

“We will participate in the events on May 9. Also on May 10 there will be a meeting with the chairman State Duma Russia and other officials,” Dodon noted.

He said that for the first time in the last 10 years, the President of Moldova will take part in the festive events on May 9 in Moscow. “That’s why I decided to go. Of course, this is very important in Chisinau. But for 15 years in a row, the presidents of Moldova refused to visit Moscow on May 9. I decided that this is important,” Dodon said.

Earlier, he said that Moldovan veterans would also be present at the parade in Moscow along with the official delegation.

“We were ready to take veterans. But for reasons of safety and health (all veterans are over 90 years old), relatives asked not to risk it,” the president noted.

Holiday in Moldova

At the end of April, the Parliament of Moldova introduced amendments to the country’s Labor Code, according to which another paragraph, “May 9 – Europe Day,” was added to the article “Official Holidays.” It will immediately follow the paragraph “May 9 - Victory Day and the memory of the heroes who died for the independence of the Motherland.” This initiative caused controversy among deputies. Opposition forces—socialists and communists—who disagreed with the draft document left the meeting room in protest. However, the parliament had enough votes to approve the amendments in two readings at once. Dodon then said that he did not intend to approve this project, emphasizing that “in Moldova, May 9 was and will be celebrated as Victory Day.”

“The Great Victory over fascism is our common heritage. The people of Moldova, together with other nations, made their worthy contribution to this Victory. This is our national holiday, and we will not allow anyone to take it away from us,” Dodon said.

Earlier, he called on the citizens of the republic to take part in the large-scale Victory March - “Immortal Regiment”, which is planned in Chisinau on May 9. According to the president, Victory Day cannot be allowed to be replaced by any other holidays. “For the sake of our grandfathers, for the sake of our relatives, for their sake, we are obliged to preserve Victory Day. They fought for us, they ensured that we celebrate Victory Day on May 9. Let’s not let them down,” Dodon said.

The Government of Moldova discussed at the next meeting a plan of events dedicated to the celebration of Europe Day, bypassing preparations for Victory Day. The main part of the events will take place not on May 9, but on May 13.

On Victory Day, many thousands of civil processions and festive events take place in Moldova every year. This year, a big festive concert for Victory Day took place on May 7 on the main square of Chisinau. Most of the events dedicated to Victory Day, including the public action “Immortal Regiment” and a concert in the center of Chisinau, are held under the patronage of the president.

About 400 thousand natives of Moldova fought in the Red Army, the exploits of 250 thousand of them were awarded, 19 people became Heroes of the Soviet Union. To date, not a single Hero of the USSR remains alive in Moldova. In total, there are about 1.5 thousand World War II veterans left in the country.

The planes were unable to take off due to weather conditions.

Next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the events was the President of Moldova with pro-Russian views, Igor Dodon. Together with the pedestal, they watched the columns of military equipment and the march of soldiers of different branches of the military.

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The Russians had to cancel the aerial part of the parade with airplanes due to unfavorable weather, although the day before the media wrote that they planned to spend 98 million rubles to clear the clouds in Moscow. RBC estimated the total cost of the celebrations at half a billion rubles. For the first time this year, Arctic military equipment drove through Red Square.

There were failures in St. Petersburg too. Here at the parade, despite the announcements, there were no warships, reports the Interfax agency. Officially, the reason why the ships were not involved in the celebrations was not given.

As previously reported, in Kyiv Security measures have been strengthened for Victory Day. About 7 thousand law enforcement officers will maintain order. The city fears problems during the Immortal Regiment march, which is associated with anti-Ukrainian forces.

Igor Dodon announced a visit to Moscow on May 9 back in April, promising to come to the holiday with his wife and son: “I received an invitation from the President of Russia to attend festive events on Red Square. For almost 15 years, the presidents of Moldova did not come to Moscow on this day, so I decided to go.”

But more often they used internal state affairs as an excuse. Seven years ago, the Italian prime minister refused a visit to Moscow because of financial crisis. His office explained that overcoming problems requires constant contact. For the same reason, the French president remained in Paris.

There will probably be no Parisian guests this time either: the day before, presidential elections were held in the country, as a result of which the leader of the “Forward!” movement won. Emmanuel Macron.

Representatives of the United Kingdom also missed the holiday in Moscow because of the elections. Thus, in 2005, the British Prime Minister, during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would not be able to attend the parade. Putin was understanding, congratulating Blair on his birthday and his party’s victory in the elections.

Relationships without invitations

The Kremlin, as a rule, takes refusals calmly, emphasizing that the parade is not held for foreign guests, but primarily for veterans. In the situation of the mass boycott of 2015, the Minister of Foreign Affairs noted that five years earlier there were also few high-profile foreign figures, although neither the events in Donbass nor the annexation of Crimea had yet happened.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasizes that his colleagues always have the right to choose, although he expresses doubts that they all make this choice on their own: “Some people don’t want to, others are not allowed in the “Washington regional committee.” Some may even be ashamed, but let them decide for themselves.”

The leader of neighboring Belarus, meanwhile, condemned colleagues who use the refusal for political purposes. “It’s a different matter when you’re busy at home,” he noted. Before the 70th anniversary of the Victory, when the guest list was unusually small, the plans were followed with special attention, but it did not live up to expectations. “In Belarus, according to the constitution, no one except the commander-in-chief can host the parade. On May 9, we will have our own parade, the same as in Moscow,” said Lukashenko, who, however, during the years of his presidency attended parades in the Russian capital more often than in Minsk.