2008 Moscow Victory Day Parade

The Moscow Victory Parade of 2008 was held on the Victory Day on the 63rd anniversary of the Great Patriotic War ending in the defeat of Nazi Germany. This was the first time the Russian Federation opened its vehicle showcase since 1991, and the airshow since the Cold War.

The parade was commanded by Army General Vladimir Bakin, Commander of the Moscow Military District, and reviewed by Anatoliy Serdyukov of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

A speech was made by the third president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. This would be notable to be the first ever major Russian military parade seen on television worldwide when RT carried a live broadcast of the parade for the first time in its history.

Forces at the Parade

• Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
• Troops of the Border Guard Service of Russia
• Troops of the EMERCOM
• Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs
• Military academies' students.
• other armed forces

Ground vehicles at the Parade

This was the first time in the history of post-Soviet Russia when armoured fighting vehicles took part in the Red Square parade.

In order of presentation:

First Group

BMP-3 at the parade repetition.

• Advanced guard flag group by three UAZ-469s
• GAZ-2975
• BTR-80
• BMP-3
• BMD-4
• Sprut anti-tank gun
• T-90
• 2S19 Msta

Second Group

Topol at the parade rehearsal held on 5 May 2008.

• 9K22 Tunguska
• Tor Missile System
• Buk-M1-2
• BM-30 Smerch
• S-300
• Iskander M
• RT-2PM Topol
• Rear guard flag group by three UAZ-469s

Aircraft at the Parade

Aircraft of the Russian Air Force performing a fly-over at the Victory Day parade in May 2008.

In order of presentation:

• 3 Mil Mi-8 (with flags)
• Antonov An-124 and 2 Sukhoi Su-27
• Tupolev Tu-160 and 2 Mikoyan MiG-31
• Tupolev Tu-95, Ilyushin Il-78 and 2 Mikoyan MiG-29 (Il-78 and Tu-95 were imitating aerial refueling)
• Ilyushin Il-78, Sukhoi Su-24, Sukhoi Su-34, also imitating aerial refueling. The Su-34s came from the 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel at Lipetsk air base.
• 3 Tupolev Tu-22M
• 4 Sukhoi Su-25
• 5 Sukhoi Su-27 and 4 Mikoyan MiG-29 (Russian Knights and Strizhi)

Training for the parade took two months in Alabino, Moscow Oblast.

External links

• Parade repetition photos
• Aviation photos