Portraits of their wartime relatives lose online and later to a flash mob will see russians take the balconies to see wartime songs just as we did here earlier with our friends for the straight. Lowball the law was all over. The. Hello this is our team from moscow its made the 9th a date indelibly etched in russian minds its a victory day and exactly 75 years ago nazi germany was defeated and the 2nd world war in europe was over this years commemorations may be subdued in size and spectacle but none the less the emotion the pride and the immense gratitude is of course still being felt nationwide as the country remembers the incalculable sacrifices made by soviet troops and civilians who suffered the wards biggest casualties. Really. Even though you may not. June 22nd 1941 and germanys surprise invasion of the u. S. S. R. Started what will become known in russia as the great patriotic war. The nazis had a significant advantage in numbers and military equipment allowing troops to gain vast amounts of territory with little resistance in a matter of months they were of moscows doorstep. But after a series of fierce battles and unforeseen resistance from the soviet people the germans were still unable to enter the city and were forced to retreat meanwhile the german psychs are around in the Northern Capital leningrad today some petersburg mounting a military blockade which would last for 872. 00 days freezing temperatures and a desperate lack of food and water turned the city into a living hell. Amid countless deaths starvation and suffering some comfort was to be found from a sound heard across the city hundreds of loudspeakers and radios played the constant with macby to the metronome the leningrad heartbeat became a symbol of resistance. On the Southern Front the battle for starling grab would become one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. There are so obvious soldiers Life Expectancy was less than 24 hours and after 5 grueling months the hellish massacre ended with an estimated 2000000. 00 casualties. But that hard earned victory for the soviet forces was a turning point of the war dealing a huge blow to nazi morale and proving they were not invincible by 944 the u. S. S. R. Had cleared the enemy from all of its territories and started advancing on berlin. But british and American Forces created a 2nd front soviet troops were able to liberate others after the fall of berlin in may 945. 00 germany capitulated but the price paid was horrific more than 26000000 soviet people died in the great patriotic war more than half of them were civilians. May the 9th was declared victory day to commemorate the great sacrifice humanity paid for its freedom and a reminder of the horrors that war brings upon the lives of those who fight for their very existence. Well this is victory Day Celebrations were supposed to be the largest in recent memory but thats not no possible because of todays reality none the less a cause for the. Day of recovering what has been and is still taking place and how its been made possible to. I can tell you that this place never looked like this on may 9th and watch his recent history red square is completely empty we do understand why but yeah it does feel absolutely special care well what if i put it this way may 9th is probably the most important holiday for russians for the people of this country for the former soviet republics on the cotton calendar yes of course there is an easter there is the new years eve but every time i explain to everyone why this is so important we do have to remember the price that this country paid for this more than 75 years ago we do have to remember that no other country lost so many people more than 25000000 perished this is indeed hard to believe that red square at this point is empty but like the russian president was saying this doesnt mean that there wont be a fully fledged celebration perhaps at some point later this year for all of us its the most valuable and most precious holiday we always celebrated solemnly and nationally all together good spiritual and moral significance is enormous our attitude towards this day is sacred we will certainly celebrate this anniversary as usual solemnly and widely we will celebrate it properly as a sense of duty to those who suffered and achieved victory and we will have our main parade on red square on the peoples march of the immortal regiment of moscow streets and across russia. Veterans for to get staff and we will be united as they are we are united by a shared memory she had achievements and aspirations also the responsibility for the present and the future as we know and strongly believe that we are invincible when we are together. Happy victory day. We heard. From other russian servicemen i can tell you that on any other may 9th we know this whole ray would have been much louder because it would have come from hundreds or even thousands of soldiers marching it was a big question for everyone whether the parade was going to happen and on april 16th president putin decided none of this happens on this may 9th clearly because of all the dangers but lets just have a look at what the parade looked like exactly one year ago. On this may 9th of course when everyone is in quarantine that doesnt mean that there is no room for some of the victory day traditions and one of these traditional events. Is of course the fireworks that usually happen in the evening they will indeed take place but people were told to stay at home and once again join the show from the balcony aerial part of the parade that is the only section of this traditional event that we will witness. Is in a location from where the view is spectacular so i just want to ask a. B. He could see something or maybe he heard something any news about whats going on with this part of the show we didnt know whether it would happen because of the weather because of the virus but you know we going to show he have they come as a tradition now headed by the the flying cow as they call it the meat 26 and prophet flanked by me 8 and prophets small of bread that ive been in that aircraft you can fit 70 odd people into that helicopter its bigger than most restaurants an absolutely huge piece that is theres actually a video once of its carrying another helicopter slung slung below it just just behind the alligators we should see that the night hunt has me 28 designated to. Weather designated to the flights. At any time of the day as the name implies the. There they are matching sea room behind. And me what a what a spectacle. Credible spent at least to do it in this in this terrible time with least russians can look out their windows self isolation and see these beautiful machines during overhead that is the the fight he waved at the helicopters next we should see the heavy a boys the the aircraft and that is the a 50 you need a 50 year rushes i in the sky capable of seeing hundreds of kilometers in all directions when its abu in tracking threats up to 50 threats from from again hundreds of kilometers away and organizing defenses organizing other jets to shoot troops by aircraft. Behind its a trio of 76 transport aircraft these are the workhorses and i can tell you from peroration that you dont want to be any when we have these when they take off the. Huge fusees they generate to. Do that sweep you clean off in the 295 bad you wanted a zoo pilot until youve been moved allies to intercept these off the coast of california for example a very old aircraft put a good bed a recognizable for blues released during the last century theyve been modernized with all sorts of avionics and electronics again screaming hoover over moscow. And up next up next i would say my favorite aircraft the Worlds Largest fastest and heaviest bomb but the 2160 whites was an absolutely beautiful aircraft surrounded by 2226 small small a siblings zul happening very quickly obviously these are jets that barely a 100 meters. 150 to 300 meters above the city. Do this if youve got enough time to mention everything that makes legs to the soup this is suited you forsooth 30 and sooth 30 fives. Fighter aircraft and foremost together these were actively used in syria operations against jihadists and terrorists there. Studying footage absolutely stunning footage. After the x. Rushes to the most famous arab batiks the flying me 20 times of su 30 in the diamond cuban diamond this is this is who we. Are. Celebrating and congratulating russians. With the 9th of may and capping the parade. A formation that sue 25. 00 proud as accurate a proud streaking across moscow things in the sky and the russian tried to land in the flag of the Russian Federation and thats it ladies and gentlemen at least we got a show. So we did it was great to watch as well now every veteran has a gripping story to tell and we wanted to put you directly in touch with those war heroes we contacted his many as we could find for our victory mail project we reached out to them and asked you then to write in with your messages of thanks which you did i got some of them here will go through the in a minute here are some of those heartfelt letters of appreciation of most of them of already been sent on to the veterans they really really appreciate it however some got stuck with us there in front of me no doubt here because of the Current Situation with the coronavirus but so you can bet your Bottom Dollar as soon as it gets better well be sending these on now the letters we. Receive came from different corners of the world italy is strange here that say its a look a stray that one from the usa that would even from from china now these came in as well from russia from an orphanage and look how beautifully the been decorated the hammer and sickle the st george ribbon there which is so synonymous of course with this event and lovely choose lips another one from the same place but i just want to show you these all take too much time but look at that look at the love thats gone where are you the love thats gone into those again the same george ribbon the russian trickle or the little rose Little Flower really nice thank you for sending them all in now if you want to send them in why not also work contact ran a bill or tear youll find all the details on a site the story with him he joined the French Resistance and took part in sabotage operations against the nazis now the address you need is coming up after weve heard his story. Got a little money for support already plus each other. Just a bit it will go below job me. To go here move broader me known and wanted to be and to do the math. Form a bomb watch the money doesnt go your way only hell sure younger point out that. Good. At the bible before. You did a whole new or more b. A. You look at a book that builds on 5 barbers a good dresser gee you dont like bar is it good for me get off my book. Or division you stupid hell be up for the most here. And youre in orbit they might deduce through our. Laws hes 4 or so world go to your most are you the dish of tea on a sword o. E. D. Just for transit or. Well a relative new tradition each year on victory day sees hundreds of thousands of russians march with portraits of their relatives who fought in the war its called the immortal regiment and since 2012 it see marches not only nationwide but also far beyond russias borders to this year of course the pandemics for the stop to major public gatherings but where theres a will theres a way as they say as Daniel Hawkins explains. Well moscows fries only empty this month of my abouts on surprisingly given the circumstances youd expect normally crowds of people to be attending the parade on red square and obviously the immortal regiments something which has become much addition and only russia but across the 12 that started back in 2012 in a small siberian city of thomson its ballooned to now include over 110 countries 500 different cities and millions of people not only in russia but also tens of thousands across the wild as well in the whole squad you called home the but chill military parades you can hold a virtual remembrance ceremony thats exactly what has happened over 2000000 people have submitted photos and stories over there but it is of the anzus those. Who fought many of whom died in the 2nd mold war the great patriotic war is known here in russia and that ceremony will be broadcast on social media and also on television throughout the date that those stories those photos sweeping from eastern russia away from but also the far east all the way to kaliningrad the west the most point of russia and its going to take hours i can tell you to do probably the best part of the day now because they just have been so so many submissions this means so much to so many people theres not one family in russia and that was the fact that the didnt lose someone during the war and at 7 pm today here in moscow russians are encouraged to open their windows go to the balconies hold up the portraits hold their ancestors who gave those sacrifices and to sing to sing the victory day song which perhaps encompasses everything that they stay means the most important festival here in russia the suffering the sacrifice and a celebration of the great patriotic war and music and song is of course just one of the ways people remember those those days those sacrifices and has managed to break down borders across thousands of miles even as. Far as australia and mainly one small child would have been be web. 28. 00 man choir he will find some happen to be fans of russian music called military songs of illusionary songs have got together and that transcended so many miles across the borders and have become somewhat of a hit not only domestically but also a that ashley and here in russia this is the choir and some of the creative music they have produced paula time to. Salt to issue the post of the new boy. Oh. Oh. Yes it is part of the. Russians obviously very very tough language even tougher to sing in but these are guys from a straight old managed to record individually that russian war song and we put together that montage autopsy and of course they were also invited suit perform at the victory Day Celebrations this year all right square that has happened for all this reasons but they invite still stands and should that event go ahead or rather when it goes ahead that is the question they said theyre very happy to come to last go and visit sound that i decided to have it will dish in with them as well to see if i can make the cut and that perhaps join him back signal podium conky going to. Do so dont think shes close and it needs a Little Hollow to hold. A news release for the v. J. To go. On the. News lisa needed. Oh i was all about to follow those guys are pretty good but i hope i managed to make the addition and maybe well level sitting together when they do come to moscow and that theyve also said that they were really surprised that overwhelmed but how much of their songs of but people not only in the Expat Community in australia where they have become a staple or huge hit but also messages from what russia from all those miles away this is what they have to say being able to celebrate the end of the war is a marvelous thing and to remember the suffering that was always involved and that song seems to really speak just as a song as much as what it is really saying in a moving place and i think music particularly in the exchange of cultures is art its uplifting and it brings hope weve also had a lot of private messages story i spoke of from paypal. In russia who said things like i cried and. You know i used to sing this song with my grandparents at family gatherings. People have been very very kind to us although theres certain lines of my celebration is perhaps the 1st thing in recent times some for some generations in living memory when a parade has taken place when the streets are lined with people celebrating that hasnt stopped people marking this very important day for russia in their own way through that online immortal regiment through the medium of song off the balconies and windows thats going to be quite a sight quite a sound a bit later that night and suddenly its a question of when rather than if people will be able to go out and mark this very important holiday very important day albeit a little later. Well back to the dark times hitler is old to. The target to the east was to conquer the soviet union known as operation barbarossa then he viewed much of whats now Eastern Europe as a site of repopulation for the germans the plan would have met the extermination of people already there there was of course a systematic massacre of millions of jews nearly all extermination camps were located in Eastern Europe some scholars estimate that almost half of the 6000000 Holocaust Victims were soviet citizens camps were also established for solving the prisoners of war the nazis acted with exceptional savagery in their abuse of captured troops there were shots they were experimented on with gas or worked to death war than 3000000. 00 soviet prisoners were killed most of them by deliberate starvation one war crime haws for the hunt for about 500 soviet officers who discovered from the mouth 1000 nazi concentration camp in austria one of the witnesses to those events was a lady called anna hackle her family managed to save the lives of 2 solve it offices. As i say i rinsed out they drove around the villages with loudspeakers and announced a dangerous criminals had escaped and they needed to be big stabbed or even shot it was terrible they described it as hunting them like harrison. Bring the captured runaways back to the camp dead. Be offended lived about 10 to 11 kilometers from the concentration camp and they had the courage to reach out to us its scary and so he knocked on the door inside please give me something to eat and my mother took his hand and said i know who you are she went to my father in the bedroom and said father have you heard one person has come here lets help him you cant you know we will all be seized and our whole family would disappear forever but my mother didnt give up later my father eventually said do what you want for your have to take responsibility for us for the whole family. Its done she brought me into the kitchen and said i also have 5 sons who went to war and i want all of them to return home i also have a mother who is waiting for you yes he said and i also have a heart my mother replied. Mom said i have not 6 but 8 sounds we were one family we loved each other they werent strangers they were brothers to me and together we really felt good. To have your mom talked about it so far only this baby hugged me so tight she went upstairs with my mother and she had a religious icon and the divine mother the 2 women couldnt speak to each other one didnt know german