1945 Moscow Victory Day Parade: Largest Military Procession in History Amidst Heavy Rain and Stalin’s Watchful Eye

Six weeks after the fall of Berlin and the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War, the capital city of the Soviet Union hosted the largest military parade in history on June 24, 1945. Ordered and executed by Stalin himself, the 1945 Victory Parade featured 40,000 soldiers, sailors, and service personnel accompanied by 1,850 tanks, artillery pieces, and various equipment. Unfortunately, heavy rain and overcast skies hindered a planned flyover by Red Air Force pilots during the two-hour long procession. The highlight of the event occurred as Soviet troops discarded the regimental flags of former Nazi units in front of Lenin’s Mausoleum while Stalin and his closest party members watched from above. This parade was later documented and distributed throughout the nation and beyond, with a condensed, twenty-minute version being released. t.me/ukraine_watch