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05/11/2008: "Russia puts on an arms parade to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany"

For the first time since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Moscow has put on an arms parade to celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany. Russians are impressed with the military show of strength, but in Eastern Europe the parade has reawakened old fears.

In the days running up to the parade, things in Moscow looked a bit strange. Tanks rolled down the streets in the direction of Red Square while fighter jets flew over the office blocks in the heart of the Russian capital. To Western observers, these scenes were anachronistic. If it weren’t for the hundreds of billboards and luxury boutiques, it would almost seem as if things had jumped back in time to the Soviet Union in 1990.

[ The point is to strengthen national pride and to show confidence in Russia's military power. Washington snears at the "old equipment". ]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,552557,00.html

Replies: 1 Comment

on Sunday, May 11th, Dental Plan said

I remember the one from 2005 was just loads soldiers marching and WWII veterans waving from the backs of old logistics trucks. This new one, featuring nearly all of their military's current armored combat vehicles, adds symbolic support to my argument that the Cold War never ended.

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