American soldiers have marched
on Red Square - and the world hasn’t come to an end.
Last night, the center of Moscow
was captured by U.S. troops.
Uninformed city folk shot puzzled
glances at one another, some even indignant, when a column of brave Yankees, marched
at a measured pace, into Red Square. Because the fact is that never before have
soldiers from the NATO countries marched alongside the Kremlin walls.
“Oooh,
so you're rehearsing,” said one onlooker with a sigh of relief, mimicking the
tone of Anton SemenovichShpak,
one of the characters from Gaidai's
famous film. This rehearsal is important, but it's not the last. On Thursday, soldiers
from the second battalion of the U.S. 8th Infantry Regiment will march by the [Lenin] Mausoleum. Along
with them will march over 10,000 Russian troops, about a thousand soldier from the Commonwealth
of Independent States, select members of the British, French, and Polish armed
forces. Today’s test run, as theater folks say, really will be the last. Then -
it's time for the Victory Parade itself.
Muscovites can only be envied:
they'll see not only the soldiers, but also the technology - 159 ground combat vehicles.
And if they aren't too lazy to raise their heads -127
aircraft and helicopters. It’s not hard to get confused with such
variety, so Argument y Facty has found out
what's worth paying attention to.
POLISH TROOPS, RUSSIAN HOSPITALITY
Polish soldiers told Argument
y Facty: “Even average people are coming up to us
on the street and greeting us with such warmth!”
Welcoming the European
Victory Parade participants on Wednesday, young staffers from the Museum of
Armed Forces cooed, "Eagles Everyone!," rolling
their eyes with admiration. Foreign troops who march on Red Square May 9th will
receive medals commemorating their, “participation in the Victory Day military
parade.”
Troops from Poland,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia, Turkmenistan and Tadzhikistan arrived in 20
buses. When 400 handsome, broad-shouldered, tall and stately service members
lined up near the museum, even Russian Defense Ministry officials observing the
line-up couldn't hold back cries of approval.
The most memorable were the
Poles. Argument y Facty spoke with Polish
soldiers, who gave their impressions the trip to Moscow.
"On April 30 we landed
in Chkalov Airport. Since we've been here, we've managed to see much of the
city. We were taken to the Vernadsky
Circus, we saw the Zvenigorod Monastery, the Kubinka Museum,
and of course, we visited Red Square," reported the Polish Army Honor
Guard commander, Lieutenant Colonel VoichekhErbel.
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by WORLDMEETS.US
"Our impressions have
been most favorable. We really never really expect to be so well received. We
have great accommodations. We were pleasantly surprised that even average
people on the street are coming up to us and greeting us with such
warmth," continued honor guard sergeant, MiroslavMjeka.
"We're amazed by the
organization and how professionally Russian troops collected over 10,000 people
for the parade rehearsal," says Corporal Richard Stavitzky.
According to Lieutenant Colonel
Erbel, the selection of soldiers to take part in the
Victory Parade honor guard followed the most exacting standards. As a result, only
the best prepared troops from the most elite units were sent to Moscow.
WHAT MOSCOVITES WILL SEE IN
THE EVENING
“Chrysanthemum,” “Weeping
willow,” “Coral,” “Danko,” these are the names of the
so-called shells that will be displayed for the first time in the capitol’s skies
during the celebratory fireworks on May 9th. The spectacle promises to be extraordinary.
Instead of the traditional ten minutes of fireworks, this time the display will
last fifteen. In that time about 4,500 rockets will be launched.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
All told, fireworks sites in
14 places will be organized in Moscow. In addition to the traditional sites,
there will be two more in the Kremlin area: one near the hotel “Russia,” and another
one on the Prechistenskaya embankment. At precisely 10pm Moscow
time, eleven rocket stations will fire up on Sparrow Hills and 11
stations at Victory
Park. Altogether, the anniversary fireworks will use 72 stations and 18
cannons.
With regard to new fireworks
technology, the army didn't disclose all of its secrets. But it's known, for
instance, that the “Chrysanthemum” will appear as a splash of spherical red,
yellow, green and blue color, while the “Coral” is monotone (thick yellows,
reds or greens). Such fireworks as the “Oriole” will be displayed for the first
time (shooting out with a piercing hiss, it forms a bright multicolored sphere)
and “Red Stars” (a scarlet bouquet that twinkles with a crack as it burns out).
According to the commander of
the special firework division of the Moscow Military District, Colonel
Vyacheslav Paradnikov, “The industry is developing” new
195-millimiter and 125-millimeter missile “Tricolors" especially for the
anniversary celebrations.
