People's Democracy

  Moscow Celebrates 60th Anniversary In A Splash Of Red

Avik Dutta from Moscow

RED was the colour of the 60th anniversary of the historic triumph against fascism at Red Square in Moscow. Beneath the large, banner-size portraits of Lenin and Stalin, the troops who marched ceremonially across the historic venue wore the uniform of the Red Army. Ignoring the cold drizzle that fell from a sullen sky, the troops waved the Red Banner with fervour as they walked along the boulevard that was decorated with millions of red roses.

This enthusiasm was in contrast to the outlook of the Putin officialdom on the celebrations. The Russian president had invited more than fifty heads of state and the list included the Chinese president Hu Jintao as well as UN president George W Bush and the Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi. Indian premier, Dr Manmohan Singh was present. Platitudes were expressed in the official programme where Putin called observation of the 60th anniversary a ‘holy occasion.’

What the celebrations lacked was the involvement of the mass of the people. Unprecedented security arrangements marked the Russian capital. Movements of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic were severely restricted. Even members of the international press corps found their movement severely cramped as official cars flashing blue-and-red lights whizzed by throughout the day. Helicopter gunships patrolled overhead. Pedestrians were checked for papers. ‘No entry’ boards throughout Moscow discouraged motorists from venturing inside the heart of the city.

President Putin’s official address would not mention the role of Stain. However, the 2600 former Red Army veterans who participated in the parade carried pictures of Stalin. Indeed, the real fervour of the anniversary celebrations were seen at the hillock off the western entrance to Moscow called the Poklonya Gora. This was the place where Stalin had set up the underground office of the Army command. Most of the crucial Soviet military decisions during the German attack on the Soviet Union were taken here.

The place contains a plaque that symbolises the patriotic struggle of the Soviet masses for the defence of the motherland. The plaque was set up back in 1958 and is held dear in Russia of today, as it had been during the existence of the Soviet Union. All those Soviet citizens who had suffered losses during the Second World War came forward to contribute towards the building of this commemorative plaque. Millions of roubles were collected from the citizens to construct a museum here.

Each year on May 9, the veterans of the patriotic war converge at this place. The 60th anniversary of the anti-fascist triumph was a very important occasion for the veterans who had been barred from taking part in the Moscow celebrations. A vast number of veteran soldiers, their chests bedecked with medals of honour came together here and they aid their respects to the memory of Joseph Stalin, the architect of the Soviet triumph against fascism; the blow the USSR delivered to Nazi Germany was a very important contributory act to the final collapse of the Third Reich.