Victory Day Celebrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg

Victory Day festivities are organized in all major Russian cities. They last for the whole day starting with the breathtaking military parade and culminating in grandiose fireworks. It is a sacred holiday for every person living in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Travel All Russia offers a great way to spend your early May vacation in Russia. Join our signature tour to celebrate Victory Day.

The biggest military parade takes place in Red Square, however, Moscow is overcrowded during these dates, and Travel All Russia recommends travelers to Russia to join the celebration in St. Petersburg where you will see a grandiose military show happening right on the Palace Square! And our award-winning Russian tours will ensure that you get the most welcoming experience of Russia.

The first Victory Day Parade was held on June 24th, 1945 in the very heart of Moscow - on the magnificent Red Square. This day Moscow saw all its war heroes and commemorated those who gained the victory for their country at the expense of their lives.

The Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, who had formally accepted the German surrender to the Soviet Union, reviewed the troops. Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky was in command of the parade. Zhukov and Rokossovsky rode through the whole Red Square on white and black horses, the fact that was perpetuated by the equestrian statue of Zhukov in front of the State Historical Museum. The USSR leader Joseph Stalin watched the parade from the rostrum of the Lenin Mausoleum.

It was a very significant day for all Soviet people, the day when all of them were proud of their heroes and their Motherland.

In the Soviet period, military parades on Red Square were held only in the anniversary years of 1965, 1975, 1985, and 1990. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the 9th of May celebrations with military parades were renewed in 1995 and since then parades on Red Square became an annual event.

Today this honorary holiday is celebrated all over Russia and in the former Soviet republics, but the most important and grandiose Victory Day celebrations take place in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Travel all Russia invites you to become a part of this festive fun with our May Victory Group Tour to both Russian capitals. In Moscow, you will explore all its most famous sights and plunge into the pre-holiday fuss of the bustling capital. But the most interesting part awaits you in St. Petersburg.

Here you will enjoy the parade procession on Nevsky prospect or if you wish you can see the whole parade at Palace Square, arriving there early in the morning and merging with happy local people and other travelers. The evening will bring you a great holiday experience as you will watch a grandiose fireworks show - the bright culmination of Russian Victory Day. Fireworks are better seen from the banks of the Neva River, for example from the Spit of Vasilievsky Island or the Palace Embankment.

Victory Day in Russia is a never-to-forget adventure. Contact us to book a tour and enjoy great 9th of May festivities in Moscow and St. Petersburg.