Victory Days (День Победы)

Victory Day, our favorite Russian holiday celebrated on May 9th, commemorates the Soviet victory "over the fascists" & the end of WWII. On this holiday veterans come out to reminisce and others come to congratulate them on their victory. It's traditional to give the vets flowers and thank them for saving the country. The elderly have stories to tell & the young are interested in listening, despite the passing of years. As you might imagine, many long for Soviet days & regret that the country they fought for, the USSR, no longer exists. Invariably, the weather is good - if it isn't, the government sees that it is by seeding the sky to get rid of rain. It's the one day a year when the focus is on the elderly & they can bask in their glory. More than 20,000,000 Soviet people lost their lives during the war. These photos span the years.