Moscow: Troops from four NATO states will
march through Red Square for the first time Sunday as Russia
marks the 65th anniversary of the World War II victory with
its biggest parade since the Soviet collapse.
In a moment of huge symbolism, soldiers from Britain,
France, Poland and the United States will step onto the
square`s famed cobbles while Russia proudly displays
nuclear-capable missiles that once threatened Western targets.
With Russia seeking to trumpet its post-Soviet
resurgence, 10,000 Russian troops and military hardware
including nuclear-capable Topol-M missiles will take part in a
finely choreographed parade that has been months in rehearsal.
Authorities are making a huge effort to promote the event
to ensure Russians and foreigners never forget the Soviet
Union`s wartime sacrifices. Moscow is already festooned with
red banners marking the anniversary.
Foreign dignitaries attending the event will include
Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the heads of state of
almost all the ex-Soviet nations.
Meanwhile a controversial plan to plaster posters of
wartime dictator Joseph Stalin around the city was shelved --
reportedly on the Kremlin`s orders, and the pictures will now
only be shown in museums.
"Our people won victory in the toughest war of the 20th
century, saved their country and Europe from Fascism and gave
us all a future," President Dmitry Medvedev said this week.
PTI
