An object from the Soviet space program, at the Permanent Exhibition of Soviet Achievment. Life magazine, October, 1961.
LIFE: An object from the Soviet space program,… – Hosted by Google.
Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the victory over Germany in World War II. In Russia, the war is known as the Great Patriotic War, and May 9th is still one of the biggest holidays of the year. Russia today has English language coverage of this morning’s Victory Day parade on Red Square. Watch the full video with English commentary and read about the event on the Russia Today website.
Military parade on Red Square – full version (68 min)
Update: Russia Today has posted a lot of great video covering this year’s Victory Day and the history of the Great Patriotic War. Here are some highlights.
History of Great Patriotic War
Russia celebrates WW2 victory
U.S. uncertain about WW2 history
A Victory Day report from America with a Russian perspective.
More than 80 years after his death, Russians are still divided about the legacy of Vladimir Lenin. Last week saw the 138th anniversary of Lenin’s birth. In the past, his home town was renamed in his honor, but now there’s talk of returning the city’s original name. Here’s an interesting piece from Russia Today covering the controversy.
With May Day approaching, we bring you a collection of Soviet May Day postcards. These are great examples of soviet art and we hope you will enjoy them. These were originally posed to Flickr by iwasayeyeman.
A baby mammoth was recently found in nearly perfect condition, frozen in the Russian permafrost. The mammoth was discovered by a reindeer breeder in the Yamalo-Nenetsk region. The mammoth has been named “Lyuba” after the wife of the man who found her. Click here to view video of the mammoth from BBC.
This Universal International News reel from 1956 takes an interesting look at the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets. The clip includes an animation showing how Sputnik was believed to have been launched. This news piece was most likely shown in movie theaters around America.
The February, 1958 edition of Science Digest featured an interesting article on Soviet plans to build cities on the moon. Of course the Soviets never sent men to the moon, and it would be another 11 years before Neil Armstrong would make his historic landing. Back in 1958, however, it seemed that Soviet plans to colonize the moon were taken rather seriously by American scientists. The article is very interesting and gives some historic perspective on the space race between the US and USSR.
Here’s a small collection of videos and photos posted by internet users on Victory Day 2007.
Russian National Anthem sung by soldiers during the official Victory Day celebrations on Red Square. You can follow along with the lyrics.
Video from inside the cockpits of the jets that flew over the Red Square ceremony.
Veteran. Originally posted by Encinar.
Veteran. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.
Veterans marching in Victory Day parade. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.
Victory Day parade, Moscow, 9 May 2007. Originally posted by urbanpostings.
Stalin poster in Victory Day parade. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.
Marchers in Victory Day parade. Originally posted by Leonid V. Kroujkov.
Fire in the Sky. Originally posted by stranger in moskva.
Victory Day, the celebration of Soviet victory over fascist Germany in the Great Patriotic War, is celebrated each year in Russia on May 9th. Victory Day banners, posters and decorations are everywhere. Here are some pictures we took on a short walk around St. Petersburg.
Victory Day Decorations at Technology Institute Metro, St. Petersburg, Russia
Victory Day Decorations – Narva Triumphal Gate, St. Petersburg, Russia
Closeup of decorations at Narva Triumphal Gate
Building decorated for Victory Day
Victory Day poster in store window – “Happy Victory Day – May 9th”
Victory Day poster – “Happy Victory Day”
Here is a short American news clip from 1961 covering the May 1st celebrations in both the Soviet Union and Cuba. While the clip shows little about the actual May Day events, it does provide examples of both American and Soviet Cold War propaganda.
