Russia celebrates WW II victory

Kazakhstan First President Nursultan Nazarbayev showed up in the balcony of the Red Square as a guest to the parade, although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said earlier that the Kremlin did not invite any foreign leaders to the Victory Day Parade this year.

The Moscow Times said foreign attendance at the parade has been reduced in recent years. In 2018, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were the only two heads of state at the parade, while in 2017, Moldovan President Igor Dodon was the only leader to visit Moscow for Victory Day.

The first Victory Parade was given in the Red Square on June 24, 1945. It was commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky and reviewed by Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov.

But there was no official celebration and parade from 1948 to 1965, when Victory Day was not officially celebrated. Since 1965, the victory's 20th anniversary, the parade has become an annual celebration and public holiday.