Event: Russia - Moscow

Victory Day

When:	9 May 2008 (annual)
Where:	Victory Park

A sombre, sentimental, deeply Russian affair, this public holiday is less about celebrating Russian victories at Stalingrad and Berlin than about commemorating the Russian dead in the Red Army's defeat in the autumn of 1941, during which they were forced back to Moscow and repeatedly savaged. The commemoration is held on Victory Park (Park Pobedy).

Hostilities in Europe ended on 2 May 1945, with the surrender of German troops signed on 4 and 5 May. Officially the war was declared at an end at midnight on 8 May, so to commemorate the event, the Russians created a national holiday called Victory Day on the anniversary of that first day of peace, and it is annually celebrated on 9 May.

On Victory Day, huge crowds enter the park bearing bouquets, and ancient, medal-wearing men and women in their original uniforms meet up to remember the past, sing, dance to accordion music and shed a few tears for the old days. In the evenings, the city is illuminated by firework displays.