Significance and events
This year's parade also marked the centennial year since the 1918 foundation of the Red Army. For the first time, it was planned that historical Red Army armored vehicles from the Russian Civil War would take part in the Victory Day parade mobile collumn in Moscow. The planned appearance was called off, instead, the 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment's 1st Honor Guard Company took part in the exhibition drill segment of the parade, together with a drumline from the Moscow Military Music College, which is also the first time this had been done since the parade of 2007, following along with the recent tradition that began in the 2001 parade. [1]
New military vehicles in the parade included the BMPT Terminator [2] [3] and 5th-generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets, a pair of which flew for the first time over the Red Square, together with two MiG-31s armed with Kinzhal air-to-surface missiles. [4]
Originally, for the first time since 2002, while other EMERCOM detachments continued to march nationwide, cadets from the Civil Defense Academy of the Ministry of Emergency Situations were not to take part in the Victory Day parade in Moscow. However, this decision was rescinded. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
For the third consecutive year, the parade included a composite ceremonial female battalion from the Military University of the Ministry of Defense, the Military Academy of Material and Technical Support, and the Military Space Academy. [10]
Preparatory activities
Beginning in December 2017, preparations for the parade were well attended at the unit level. Individual unit practices were held in the various military installations for all the participating units in the national and local parades. Unit practices within Moscow Oblast itself started in early March in the Alabino field and other locations, before the full-blown parade practice run-throughs were to commence later in the same month.
All parade practice runs began on 24 March 2018 in the Alabino training range. The first practice runs started with the ground column, kicking off the 2-month long national preparations for the 73rd Victory Day. The practice runs lasted until the middle of April, when the runs on Red Square for the national parade itself started, ending with a final combined practice run of the parade in early May in the morning. From the 1st week up to the 3rd week of April, the Alabino military training center served as the parade training ground for the estimated 14,000 military personnel attending the Moscow parade, along with more than 135 vehicles and 78 aircraft. The air flypast column began their training flights on 9 April 2018. [11]
Timeline for preparatory activities in Moscow
- 24 March towards 6 April – beginning of parade practice runs in Alabino, Moscow Oblast [12]
- 2nd up to the 3rd week of April – General practice run-through in the Alabino training field, including a flypast
- 4th week of April until 2 days before Victory Day - practice runs in Red Square right up to the general practice run
- 26–30 April, 2–6 May – evening parade practice run-throughs
- 4–5 May – Air flypast practice runs
- 6 May – the general practice run at 10 am MST
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