VICTORY DAY
In the former USSR, May 9 is Victory Day, to mark the end of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. The West marks V-E (Victory in Europe) Day on May 7, but Victory Day is different. May 7, 1945 was the date that Germany signed a document of surrender to the Allies; however, only one Soviet official was present, and it was signed in Reims, not Berlin. Stalin declared that the May 7 document was only preliminary, and orchestrated a signing in Berlin between Marshall Zhukov (the commander of the Red Army) and the Nazi high command the next day, May 8. It was carried out late at night, when it was already May 9 in Moscow due to the time difference. Thus, May 9 was born, becoming an official work holiday in the 1960s.
As I've mentioned before, the whole USSR and Ukraine in particular suffered greatly during the war. The whole USSR lost almost eleven millions soldiers and as many as seventeen million civilians. But the overlooked part, in the west at least, is the role the people of the Soviet Union played in defeating Germany--the Red Army engaged and destroyed about 70-80% of German forces in the war. Those numbers put the Western Allies' war effort in perspective.
Like all of Ukraine, Pavlograd was occupied by the Nazis in 1941 and held until the Red Army rolled back through in fall of 1943. Most cities here celebrate their "City Day" on the date the Red Army arrived; ours is in September. Pavlograd also saw a massive uprising against the Germans in February 1943--a resistance group successfully drove out the occupiers for five days. The Germans rolled in reinforcements, however, and the city was again occupied. There are monuments to the resistance leaders (who were all killed in the fighting or executed afterward) throughout the town.
Anyway, schools were closed today for the holiday. Last night, there was a concert in the town square, and there was a parade this morning through the same square. Traffic was closed off on the surrounding streets, and thousands of people turned out for what has to be one of the busiest days for Pavlograd's downtown area. It was also HOT today--around 88 or so Farenheit. Without any more clumsy words, here are the photos I took this morning.
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| The war monument and eternal flame at Pavlograd's main square |
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| Some of the equipment for the concert. Surprisingly, this was the only prominent Soviet insignia. Last year, a massive hammer and sickle banner hung from a building on the square. |
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| Monument to the Russian Revolution |
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| Concert stage. The Russian on the stage reads "Happy Victory Day! 9th of May" |
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| View of the main street--Karla Marxa St. |
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| Some girls participating the parade; they would give the vintage helmets and cloaks to some boys later |
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| What everyone's role was in the parade, I was none too clear on |
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| Dancing |
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| Soldiers marching with various banners of Soviet divisions |
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| There were about 40 soldiers, led by a man and a woman in traditional Ukrainian clothes--the man as a Cossack. Two Orthodox priests were also part of the procession, and a bunch of older men and women--dignitaries, veterans and the like--followed the soldiers and priests |
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| One soldier drove down Karla Marxa in a bobik (Soviet jeep) |
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| There were some girls in uniforms, they marched out and did a dance number. They never got real close so I wasn't quite sure what was going on. But then again, I never really am. |
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| Laying flowers |
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| Seems like Grandpa Lenin is happy today, no? |
