| VICTORY DAY CELEBRATIONS IN MOSCOW 10/05/2010 |
| (2010-05-10) |
| Last updated: 2010-05-11 13:01 EET |
This year's parade was a threefold premiere. Firstly it was the most grandiose Victory Day parade in 65 years, with the participation of more than 11 thousand troops and over 160 combat machines, including intercontinental missiles. Secondly, for the first time ever, troops from four NATO member countries marched in the Red Square, just nextdoor to the Kremlin, the building that, during the Cold War, was the headquarters of the enemy.
The third premiere is only for Romania, given that the former soveriegn of Romania, king Mihai I was present at the festivities in Moscow. 88-year-old King Mihai was Supreme Commander of the Romanian Army during World War II, and is the only world leader from that time still living. Some historians credit him with having cut the war some six months short, through his decision, on August 23rd 1944, of removing Marshall Antonescu's pro-German regime and having Romania join the Allies. Josef Stalin awarded him the Soviet Order of Victory, but King Mihai soon became aware of the Russians' ingratitude. In 1947, when Romania was basically under the occupation of Soviet troops, and run by a puppet communist regime, Mihai I was forced to abdicate and go into exile.
He only returned to the country in the 1990s, after being given back his Romanian citizenship, which was revoked by the communists, along with some of his former properties. The invitation to join the festivities in Moscow was therefore a late attempt at moral reparations towards King Mihai and his people, who, for half a century, were forced by the communists to live in terror, humiliation and poverty.
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2025-04-03
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