Grozny holds Victory Day military parade and march with participation of war veterans

The Chechen capital has held celebrations on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. In the afternoon on May 8 the central Grozny saw a solemn procession, whose participants carried a symbolic 68-meter-long "St George Ribbon". The celebration ended with a today's military parade.

The parade, composed of the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Chechnya, militaries of the units "Sever" (North) and :Yug" (South) of the Interior Troops of the Russia's MIA, and of the combined detachment of the Federal Drug Control Service, took place today in Kadyrov Avenue. The column of power agents was followed by several dozens of armoured vehicles - armoured troop carriers (ATCs) and infantry combat vehicles (ICVs).

From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Moscow time, the venue of the military parade was cordoned by reinforced police and military outfits.

Locals were not admitted to the place of the parade. The event was watched only by the republic's leadership, heads of law enforcement bodies, government officials and veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

On May 8, the Victory Day was marked by a procession in Grozny, organized by about two thousand people, mostly youth activists, as well as veterans of the Great Patriotic War. The march passed along the central city avenue from the Mosque "Heart of Chechnya" to the Memorial "Alley of Glory".

The young people carried a symbolic "St George Ribbon", 68 meters in length equal to the number of years that have passed since the fateful day; they also carried portraits of war heroes; while the procession was led by several military jeeps of that time, which carried, apart from war veterans, the Mayor of Grozny Islam Kadyrov and Khodj-Baudi Daaev, the Minister for Youth Affairs of Chechnya. The event ended with a solemn rally in the Alley of Glory.

All the festivities were held in Grozny under enhanced security measures. From morning on May 8, the central streets of the city were blocked for the passage of motor vehicles. Reinforced police and army units are patrolling the streets; while heavy military "Ural" trucks are used to block the traffic.

On May 8, the Naur District of Chechnya held a solemn ceremony of opening the monument to fallen Soviet soldiers. A year ago here, near the village of Alpatovo, locals accidentally discovered a mass grave of Soviet Army soldiers, who died in the course of fights in 1942. A two-meter slab was erected in the place of the burial.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt at the administration of the Naur District that, presumably, the remains of 100 soldiers can be buried there.