More than 1000 troops and 35 units of military equipment participated in the parade in honor of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War on the Theater Square in Tskhinval.
Out of 10 veterans participating in the Great Patriotic War and 75 home front workers living in the Republic, only two veterans were able to attend the festive celebration - veteran of the World War II Ilya Kusraev and home front participant Lidia Valieva.
For the first time, cadets of higher military educational institutions of Russia took part in the parade, who, after arriving in the Republic, underwent two-week quarantine and immediately started rehearsing. Also, for the first time, equestrian crew of the Border Administration of the FSB of Russia in South Ossetia was involved.
This year, due to the difficult epidemiological situation in the world, there were fewer people at the military parade than in previous years.
The parade was commanded by Viktor Fedorov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, first Deputy Defense Mnister of the Republic of South Ossetia. The parade was attended by the Speaker of the Parliament of South Ossetia Alan Tadtaev, the Ambassador of Russia to South Ossetia Marat Kulakhmetov, representatives of all branches of government, heads of law enforcement agencies, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, etc.
The head of the Defense Minister of South Ossetia, Ibrahim Gasseev, congratulated the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, military personnel and members of the public on the holiday.
“The day of May 9, 1945 went down in history as the day of the surrender of Nazi Germany, which unleashed the largest war in the history of mankind in 1939. In the Second World War, 62 states were drawn out of 73 that existed at that time with a population of more than two billion people. Total losses amounted to more than 70 million people killed. 75 years ago, allied countries won. The insidious and merciless enemy was defeated on all fronts. The main contribution to the Victory was made by the Red Army, which destroyed more than 80 percent of the enemy’s division,” the Minister said.
According to him, the feat of the peoples of the Soviet Union during the years of World War II is unprecedented, world history does not know the equal one.
“It was the multinational army of the Soviet Union that made the main contribution to the Victory, the enemy was defeated by Soviet soldiers, who wrote their names in golden letters in the glorious annals of the Fatherland,” he emphasized. - Among the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War were representatives of all nationalities of the Soviet Union. Shoulder to shoulder, freedom of a single country was defended by immigrants from South Ossetia, whose homeland praised the feat. Thousands of Ossetians were awarded orders and medals, 35 people were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union, nine representatives of the Ossetian people became full holders of the Order of Glory.”
Gasseev has noted that it is deeply symbolic that "today, representatives of the armed forces of South Ossetia and Russia are in a single formation."
“Together we will go through the parade, once again demonstrating the inviolability of our centuries-old friendship,” the Minister said.
He has added that in ceremonial calculations - representatives of the young generation - cadets of higher military educational institutions of Russia, who chose the defense of the Motherland as their profession and are equal to veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
“We are indebted to you, dear veterans,” said Gasseev. - By defeating fascism, you gave us the opportunity to choose the free path of development ourselves and build a worthy future. We thank you for the holy faith and just cause, we are proud of the greatness of your destinies. You are the protagonists of our story.”
