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Russians Get Out to Celebtrate 72nd Annual Victory Day

Russians all over the world are celebrating their biggest annual holiday, called Victory Day, which is basically the Russian version of the Fourth of July. 2017 marks the 72nd anniversary of the Soviet victory over Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War, which is what Russians call World War II. A number of commemorative events celebrating the official surrender of Nazi forces to the Soviet Union will take place across 26 Russian cities. Each city will host its own "Immortal Regiment" parade, in which descendants of soldiers and civilians who participated in the war march together while holding pictures and memorabilia of their ancestors. Living survivors of the war don their old military uniforms and enjoy special respect from fellow citizens. The Soviet Union took arguably the hardest toll out of all countries invaded by the Nazis, losing 11 million soldiers and up to 20 million civilians. The official symbol of the victory is an orange and black striped ribbon called the Saint George's Ribbon, and it was displayed everywhere. Regular citizens organized creative ways to display the Saint George's Ribbon, including swinging one from a crane and marching a giant version through a field. The biggest event on Victory Day, which takes place every 9th of May, is the military parade on Red Square, which features various military units and hardware parading in front of Russian top brass, including the president, prime minister, and defense minister. At the end of the day, all the celebrations are usually capped off with a large fireworks show.