As signified by the title of this e-mail, this week we celebrated the holiday of День Победы (pronounced Dyen' Pobedy) or Victory Day!
For those unaware, this is one of the most important holiday's in Russia. It commemorates the victory of the Allied Powers in World War II and has become roughly equivalent to American Independence Day. Victory Day is celebrated the 9th of May in Russia (opposed to the 8th of May in the Western Europe) because due to the time zone difference the treaty was signed on the 8th of May in Germany, but the 9th of May in Russia. Victory Day is celebrated by massive parades and fireworks in all the cities, especially those who were directly involved in a World War II battle. The most elaborate and ornate parade is done on Red Square in Moscow, and consists of tanks, APC's, mobile ICBM missiles, jet fighters, bombers, helicopters and thousands of soldiers. Essentially, it is a display of Russian military force and a day of remembrance for the millions of people who where killed in World War II. Special emphasis is placed on veterans of Russian military campaigns, especially those few World War II veterans who still survive to this very day. Essentially Victory could be described as Independence Day, but with much more military equipment, slightly less fireworks and a huge serving of Russian national pride.
For our Victory Day observances, Elder Lantukh and I went down to Victory Park. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to get near the city center or Red Square because it had been deemed hazardous for missionaries. Instead we decided to head down to Victory Park, where the celebration was much less elaborate but nonetheless had the same feeling and concepts. Victory Park is most famous for its large World War II museum, which we were able to tour free of charge and also tour the large Park which is filled with various pieces of military equipment, most notably a huge rail cannon and full naval destroyers.
I really enjoyed the Victory Day celebrations and it was very interesting to see how the Russians celebrated this very important holiday. It was really interesting to see how much pride they had in the victory over the Axis Powers and how much pride they had in their own country. Even though I am obviously not Russian, I was able to understand the importance of this event to their national heritage and cultural identity. Basically, it was just a really cool day, and I'm glad that I was able to experience such an important part of Russia. I've decided to show some pictures in order to show what we did. (Now I must say, the Victory Park celebration does not even hold a candle to Red Square celebrations. The Red Square celebrations are literally 2000x more complex and awe-inspiring. I STRONGLY recommend that you spend a few moments on Google Image search to see what it looked like on Red Square.)
Moscow!
Victory Park with the World War II museum in the back complete with the Victory Obelisk (it was a foggy day)
1942, commemorated with flowers
A Russian military band of sorts.
A blimp
Some military re-en-actors (I just thought I'd note that this is a great combination of soldiers, Alexander Nevsky's knights on the far right, World War II soldiers in the middle, and Neapolitan era soldiers interspersed.
Some young soldiers
A World War II vet who served as an artillery man during the Battle of Leningrad
A statue in the museum
The view from our apartment (just kidding, its actually a mural of the Battle of Leningrad
These murals are huge.
Just another day in the trenches doing a contacting activity here in Moscow. Elder Bressler in the middle raising his weapon, I am two people left of the flag with my face visible, Elder Lantukh is to the right of the flag with his back to the camera, Elder Olsen is off to the right of Elder Bressler. It was an intense contacting activity.
View from Elder Olsen's apartment in Nizhny (I wonder how long this joke can last, it's actually the Battle of Berlin)
The Hall of Glory, I hope this picture gives you a sense of the immense size of this Hall. The statue itself is probably 30 feet tall and the dome is huge!
Smolensk in the Hall of Glory
Moscow in the Hall of Glory
A sword, representing the strength and resolve of the Russian people
Another picture of the Hall of Glory, I hope you can see how awesome this Hall was. All of those names are Heroes of the Soviet Union (similar to the American Medal of Honor) and each carving on the wall is a city that was critical in the war effort. Above the statue is the huge dome previously shone. The Hall is a circle and all the walls are decorated in this way.
Hey America helped win World War II as well! (Note my Orange and Black Victory Day ribbon. Just trying to fit in with the people) [Also: "США" is Russian for USA, but it doesn't directly transliterate. "США" is pronounced "Se-sha-aa" is Russian]
A huge rail gun.
I really like airplanes
German Bf-109G from World War II with a Soviet Yak-3 (also from World War II) in the background.
The Ilyushin Il-2 "Shturmovik" attack bomber. During World War II Joseph Stalin said that the Il-2 was more important to the Soviet war effort than bread and water.
A Soviet anti-air rail car. I like the sayings on the side (From left to right): "For the Homeland!" "Our doings are just!" "The enemy will be destroyed!"
Elder Lantukh in the trenches.
This is a statue in Victory Park that was been a sort of joke between us and the AP's. It is a statue of the Allied Powers of World War II and thus:
I am on the far left, because of my French heritage, Elder Lantukh is the second from the left because he is Russian, Elder Bressler is the third from the left because he is the one with the most patriotism so he gets to be the American soldier, and Elder Turner is the far right British soldier because of his heritage and because all the other ones are taken.
Moscow Time
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