US actor Steven Seagal also watched the parade as did a leather-clad Alexander Zaldostanov, leader of a Kremlin-backed biker gang. Raul Castro of Cuba, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Jacob Zuma of South Africa were also in attendance. In a gesture highlighting Russia's new-found religious fervour, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu crossed himself at the start of the parade, and at noon church bells tolled for fifteen minutes.īesides China's Xi, other high-profile guests at the parade were United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon, India's President Pranab Mukherjee, and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt. The parade also saw over a hundred military aircraft - including long-range nuclear bombers - swoop over Moscow in a spectacular fly-by. In a finely choreographed spectacle, troops including soldiers sporting Soviet-era uniforms and rifles and a cavalry regiment marched across Red Square's famed cobbles as Putin, seated next to China's Xi Jinping, looked on.Ĭutting-edge military equipment including the next-generation Armata T-14 tank and nuclear missile systems rumbled through the square along with the famed war-era T-34 tank, in one of the biggest Victory Day celebrations in decades. More than 16,000 soldiers including troops from China, India, Mongolia, Serbia and several ex-Soviet states marched past the leaders. Speaking at a reception later, Putin said international relations should be guided by the WWII-era "spirit of allied partnership". In an apparent dig at the United States, Putin also criticised attempts to establish a "unipolar" world order and stressed the need to develop a "system of equal security for all states", but he conspicuously shunned more aggressive rhetoric and made no mention of the Ukraine crisis. "We are grateful to the people of Great Britain, France and the United States for their contribution to victory," he added, also thanking those who fought against the Nazis in other countries including Germany.
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