BITTERSWEET CELEBRATION

Victory Day is the most unifying holiday in Russia, because there is hardly a family in the entire country that was not personally touched by the tragedy of the Second World War. The day is filled with joy, gratitude and celebration of veterans — of all wars, but especially The Greatest Generation. There are parades, air shows, fireworks, concerts, singing and dancing in public squares. It is a sea of flags and medals and flowers, as it is customary to present the warriors with red carnations. Yet a sense sadness belies the celebration: that with every year there is less of that generation with us, that their sacrifices and their lessons will be swallowed up by the fog of history.

Here’s to never forgetting.

Air Force parade and air show on the way to the Red Square

Fighter jets

Mid-air refuel

Flying the Russian flag

Combat helicopters

Fighter jet formation

Veterans gather at the memorial parks throughout Moscow.

Light installations for Victory Day, Moscow

Veterans and pensioners

Cossacks singing in the Theater Square, Moscow

Warship captain and his wife

Veterans and pensioners

Flowers and memorials

Kids dressed in WW2-era military attire and sporting Saint George ribbons

Dancing in the streets to the sound of accordion

“Thank you for Life”

World War II victory posters and magazine covers: “The World Remembers”

Soviet Army medals and orders

Singing on the steps of the Big Theater, Moscow

Cossack singing, people dancing, everybody cheering.

Huge crowd gathers for the concert and fireworks at Poklonnaya Gora (Bow-Down Hill) war memorial in the highest spot in Moscow.

Fireworks at Poklonnaya Gora